Lead Staff Engineer – Autonomous Pilot Integration

Shield AI; San Mateo, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 234,000 - 351,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking Autonomous Pilot Integration engineers to develop and field autonomy software on unmanned platforms across air, maritime, space, and other effects/expendables. You will lead a small feature crew, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and interface with external partners to deliver mission-ready capabilities.

Role emphasizes hands-on development from software-in-the-loop to live test exercises, mentoring engineers, and owning major capability delivery, with 10–20% travel

Qualifications

• Minimum 7 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; 5 years with Master’s; 4 years with PhD, or equivalent
• Proficiency in C++ for real-time or latency-sensitive systems
• Experience with Linux-based development and embedded systems
• Experience authoring or negotiating ICDs / interface contracts
• Experience leading a small technical team or owning a major capability from design to field delivery
• Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance

Responsibilities

• Develop and field autonomy software on unmanned platforms (air, maritime, space, or effects/expendables)
• Provide technical leadership for a small feature crew or sub-program
• Collaborate with Autonomy Capabilities and Perception teams and external partners
• Mentor mid-level engineers and onboard new hires
• Drive design reviews, ICDs, and post-mortems
• Own build, configuration, and validation for mission-ready systems
• Travel 10-20% for tests, integration, and events
• Diagnose and resolve integration issues across autonomy stacks and hardware
• Capture mission data and drive fixes into next build
• Improve tooling and processes to boost integration timelines and reliability
• Ensure interface contracts meet C2 standards (A-GRA, UCI, OMS)
• Interview candidates and help define skills bar

Skills

C++ proficiency

Linux development

Embedded systems

Middleware/IPC (DDS)

Team leadership

DoD clearance eligibility

Problem solving

Education

BS/MS in CS/EE/Aerospace

Tools

k3s/k3d

Docker

CMake

Conan

CI/CD tooling

Job description

Shield AI is seeking Autonomous Pilot Integration engineers to develop and field autonomy software on unmanned platforms across air, maritime, space, and other effects/expendables. You will lead a small feature crew, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and interface with external partners to deliver mission-ready capabilities.

Role emphasizes hands-on development from software-in-the-loop to live test exercises, mentoring engineers, and owning major capability delivery, with 10–20% travel