Senior Autonomous UAS Systems Engineer

Shield AI; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 115,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to design, develop, and integrate autonomous aircraft systems for national defense. You will lead system architecture across avionics, autonomy, propulsion, and mission systems, and drive MBSE-driven trade studies and safety analyses.

You will collaborate with hardware, software, and flight operations teams to deliver a scalable, mission-ready platform capable of operating in contested environments and meeting DoD standards.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of systems engineering for aerospace/defense/autonomous aircraft.
• Demonstrated ability defining system behavior and operating modes.
• Deep expertise in system architecture, avionics integration, and autonomy-driven flight systems.
• Proficiency with MBSE, DOORS, SysML, CAMEO or similar tools.
• Experience with Group 4/5 UAS, military aircraft, or autonomous platforms.
• Strong flight testing, system integration and performance validation background.
• Knowledge of DoD acquisition, MIL-STDs, FAA airworthiness, and safety standards.
• Proven leadership of cross-functional teams and complex projects.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, agile environment with shifting priorities.
• Experience taking a program from concept to first flight.
• Ability to obtain S//SAR clearance is desired.

Responsibilities

• System Architecture & Design: refine the next-gen UAS architecture with integrated avionics, autonomy, propulsion, sensors, and mission systems.
• Define and document system-level behavior, modes, states, transitions, and fault responses.
• Support safety analyses (FHA, FMEA, FTA) by defining fault condition behaviors.
• Define and manage system requirements; decompose into subsystems and maintain traceability.
• Autonomy & AI Integration: collaborate with autonomy/software teams on AI-driven flight control and mission execution.
• MBSE: create digital models with SysML/MBSE tools, conduct trade studies, optimize performance.
• Risk Management: perform trade studies, assess risks, and select optimal solutions.
• Stakeholder Engagement: align capabilities with DoD and government requirements.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: work with hardware, autonomy, software, propulsion, and flight ops teams.

Skills

System architecture

Avionics integration

Autonomy in flight systems

Flight testing

Trade studies

Cross-functional collaboration

DoD acquisition knowledge

MIL-STDs & FAA standards

Demonstrated leadership

Agile development

Development program management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

SysML

DOORS

CAMEO

MBSE tools

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer to design, develop, and integrate autonomous aircraft systems for national defense. You will lead system architecture across avionics, autonomy, propulsion, and mission systems, and drive MBSE-driven trade studies and safety analyses.

You will collaborate with hardware, software, and flight operations teams to deliver a scalable, mission-ready platform capable of operating in contested environments and meeting DoD standards.