Lead Edge Applications & Mission Systems Architect

F7d8749a; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a technical lead to own the edge applications and mission system platform. You will shape an architecture that connects operators, autonomous platforms, mission data, and external C2 systems, supporting from ground control to theater-level planning.

You will lead critical implementation work across operator workflows, fleet management, and edge deployment in contested environments, with a focus on reliability, extensibility, and customer impact.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of professional software engineering experience, or an equivalent record of technical depth and impact.
• 5+ years providing technical leadership as a technical lead, architect, or Principal Engineer.
• Deep experience developing defense GCS and C2 applications, with mission planning and operator workflows.
• Record of shipping and sustaining software products for defense customers, including deployment and field feedback.
• Strong software architecture across distributed systems, APIs, data management, and operator-facing software.
• Experience building extensible platforms for multiple teams and external customers.
• Experience with autonomous robotics applications, including fleet operations and telemetry.
• Strong understanding of networked edge deployments, performance, security, and intermittent connectivity.

Responsibilities

• Own the platform architecture across operator applications, backend services, data and edges.
• Enable mission applications from single-vehicle to multi-vehicle supervision.
• Create APIs, SDKs, data models, and extension tooling for customer extensibility.
• Lead C2 and BMS interoperability with external mission systems.
• Advance operator and agentic workflows with planning, supervision, and execution.
• Own fleet and configuration architecture including versioning, updates, and traceability.
• Engineer edge applications for contested environments with intermittent connectivity.
• Drive roadmap, priorities, and measurable delivery milestones.

Skills

Software engineering experience

Technical leadership

GCS/C2 applications

Shipping software for defense

Software architecture

Extensible platforms

Autonomous robotics

Edge deployments

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a technical lead to own the edge applications and mission system platform. You will shape an architecture that connects operators, autonomous platforms, mission data, and external C2 systems, supporting from ground control to theater-level planning.

You will lead critical implementation work across operator workflows, fleet management, and edge deployment in contested environments, with a focus on reliability, extensibility, and customer impact.