Lead GCS & Communications Systems Engineer

f7d8749a-72d6-407c-bf98-292ea630c73a; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a GCS / Communications Systems Engineer to lead the development, integration, and validation of ground control station and communication architectures for advanced military aircraft and autonomous systems. You will define system behaviors and enable robust command, control, and mission data exchange.

You will collaborate across avionics, mission systems, networking, cybersecurity, software, and test teams to reduce integration risk and accelerate deployment, while supporting

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a technical engineering field.
• 5+ years in communications systems, networking, mission systems, or military aerospace integration.
• Experience with GCS architectures, datalinks, RF systems, networking, or airborne communications.
• Familiarity with LOS/BLOS, SATCOM, IP networking, encryption technologies, and hardware/software integration environments.
• Strong systems engineering, troubleshooting, and cross‑functional communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Define GCS and communication system behaviors, workflows, and activity diagrams for reliable command, control, telemetry, payload, and mission data exchange.
• Develop and integrate communication architectures including RF links, SATCOM, LOS/BLOS, networking, antennas, encryption devices, and interfaces.
• Lead cross‑functional integration between avionics, mission systems, networking, cybersecurity, software, and test teams.
• Develop and validate interface definitions, network architectures, link budgets, and communication performance requirements for airborne and ground systems.
• Support lab, field, and flight test activities to troubleshoot issues and validate network performance.

Skills

5+ years experience

Systems engineering

Cross-functional communication

Security clearance (S//SAR)

GCS architectures/datalinks

RF systems and networking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Aerospace, Systems, Computer Engineering or related field

Tools

Cameo Systems Modeler

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a GCS / Communications Systems Engineer to lead the development, integration, and validation of ground control station and communication architectures for advanced military aircraft and autonomous systems. You will define system behaviors and enable robust command, control, and mission data exchange.

You will collaborate across avionics, mission systems, networking, cybersecurity, software, and test teams to reduce integration risk and accelerate deployment, while supporting