Lead Avionics Systems Engineer — Autonomous UAS

Shield; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 310,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI, headquartered in the United States, seeks a Staff Systems Engineer in San Diego for its next-gen UAS program. You will design and integrate autonomous aircraft avionics, leading the air vehicle architecture and MBSE-driven development.

You will work with hardware, software, autonomy, and flight ops teams to deliver a scalable, mission-ready platform capable of operating in contested environments, including flight testing and deployment support.

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree.
• Experience defining system behavior logic, modes, and redundancy and fault management.
• Deep expertise in avionics architecture and integration, including flight computers, navigation systems, datalinks, and avionics data buses.
• Proficiency in MBSE, DOORS, SysML, Cameo, or similar system modeling tools for complex systems design and analysis.
• Experience with Group 4 or Group 5 UAS, military aircraft, or autonomous airborne platforms.
• Strong background in avionics integration, hardware/software integration labs, flight testing, and performance validation.
• Knowledge of DoD acquisition processes, airworthiness standards, and avionics standards (MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-704, MIL-STD-810, DO-178C, DO-254).
• Experience on a developmental program from clean sheet to first flight.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams in a fast-paced, agile environment with shifting priorities.
• Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance.

Responsibilities

• System Architecture & Design: Develop and refine the avionics architecture for the next gen UAS, covering flight and mission computers, data networks, navigation, communications, sensor payloads, and their interfaces with autonomy and propulsion.
• System Behavior & Safety: Define and document system-level behavior, including modes, states, transitions, redundancy management, and fault detection, isolation, and recovery.
• Requirements & Interface Management: Establish top-level requirements, break them down into avionics subsystem requirements, and own the interface control documents (ICDs).
• Navigation & Communications: Define navigation architectures (GPS/INS) and alternative navigation for GPS-denied operations; define datalink and communications architectures for contested environments.
• Avionics Integration: Lead integration of avionics hardware and data buses (e.g., Ethernet, MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429, CAN), thermal, EMI/EMC, and environmental considerations.
• Autonomy Integration: Ensure avionics compute, sensor data, and determinism meet flight control and mission execution needs.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with DoD stakeholders and avionics suppliers to align capabilities with requirements.

Skills

Avionics architecture

System integration

MBSE

Leadership

Cross-functional

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

DOORS

SysML

Cameo

Job description

Shield AI, headquartered in the United States, seeks a Staff Systems Engineer in San Diego for its next-gen UAS program. You will design and integrate autonomous aircraft avionics, leading the air vehicle architecture and MBSE-driven development.

You will work with hardware, software, autonomy, and flight ops teams to deliver a scalable, mission-ready platform capable of operating in contested environments, including flight testing and deployment support.