Lead UAV State Estimation Engineer - SensorFusion & Autonomy

Shieldai; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Bonus

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Principal State Estimation Engineer to lead development, optimization, and deployment of sensor fusion algorithms for autonomous UAV navigation in dynamic environments. You will design real-time processing pipelines and integrate multi-sensor data for robust state estimation.

Collaborate across autonomy, software, and hardware teams to transition research into deployable solutions. The role emphasizes shipping high‑quality navigation systems and proving performance in

Qualifications

• Minimum 12 years of relevant experience with a bachelor’s degree; or 10 years with a master’s; or a PhD with 8 years.
• Deep experience developing real-time navigation and sensor fusion with IMUs, GPS, and other sensors.
• Strong understanding of state estimation techniques (Kalman filters, extended and unscented variants, particle filters).
• Proficiency with C++11 or newer; experience with real-time operating environments.
• Comfort with Linux, scripting, and standard development tools.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills; ability to work across engineering disciplines and with external partners.
• Proven track record of successfully shipping products, showcasing the ability to navigate through development cycles, overcome obstacles, and deliver high-quality solutions to meet project deadlines and exceed expectations in a fast-paced environment.
• Experience developing and implementing inertial navigation solutions for GPS-denied or degraded environments.
• Knowledge of computer vision techniques.
• Proficiency in optimizing algorithms for compute-constrained systems.
• Experience with CUDA or other hardware acceleration technologies (e.g., FPGAs).
• Proven track record of transitioning from R&D to production.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement advanced state estimation algorithms, including inertial navigation, sensor fusion, and alternative navigation techniques for denied environments.
• Design and optimize state estimation frameworks to integrate data from IMUs, GNSS receivers, visual odometry, magnetometers, barometers, and radar systems.
• Build real-time sensor processing pipelines for UAV platforms, focusing on robustness, accuracy, and failover performance.
• Collaborate with autonomy, software, and hardware teams to ensure seamless integration of state estimation components within larger autonomous systems.
• Lead simulation, lab testing, and field validation of state estimation algorithms to assess performance under varying operational conditions.
• Stay on the forefront of navigation and state estimation innovation—adapting emerging technologies and research into deployable, mission‑ready solutions.

Skills

Sensor fusion

Real-time navigation

C++11

Linux

Scripting

Communication

Shipping products

GPS-denied navigation

Computer vision

CUDA

Hardware acceleration

R&D to production

Kalman filters

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Tools

CUDA

FPGAs

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Principal State Estimation Engineer to lead development, optimization, and deployment of sensor fusion algorithms for autonomous UAV navigation in dynamic environments. You will design real-time processing pipelines and integrate multi-sensor data for robust state estimation.

Collaborate across autonomy, software, and hardware teams to transition research into deployable solutions. The role emphasizes shipping high‑quality navigation systems and proving performance in