Senior Autonomy Engineer: Emerging-Domain Flight Platforms

Shield AI; Washington (Washington County); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking engineers for the Autonomous Pilot Integration team to build autonomy capabilities for emerging-domain platforms, including space, maritime, and contested logistics. You will write autonomy code, integrate with platform software, and own the development end-to-end from software-in-the-loop to live test.

You'll collaborate with platform teams, work across autonomy capabilities, perception, and GCS, and contribute to design reviews, ICDs, and pre-deployment preparation.

Qualifications

• BS/MS in a relevant engineering discipline or equivalent practical experience.
• Typically requires 5+ years of relevant experience.
• Strong proficiency in C++ and Linux-based development.
• Experience integrating embedded or real-time software systems.
• Experience supporting integration, testing, or operational field events.
• Strong systems-level problem-solving skills.
• Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.

Responsibilities

• Stand Up New Capabilities– Help establish autonomy on new platforms by integrating existing Shield AI capabilities with platform-specific software and developing new autonomy where needed.
• Develop & Field Autonomy– Develop and integrate autonomy software onto emerging-domain platforms, including platform and autopilot integration, payload and sensor integration, mission behaviors, multi-agent coordination, and validation through software-, hardware-, vehicle-, and live testing.
• Platform Team Partnerships– Partner closely with platform teams to integrate autonomy capabilities, validate interfaces, coordinate hardware/software compatibility, and support mission readiness.
• Collaboration Across Teams & Partners– Work with the Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, GCS teams, feature crews, and customer/program offices to deliver integrated autonomy solutions.
• Design & Documentation– Contribute to design reviews, ICDs, integration planning, and post-mortems while improving engineering rigor across teams.
• Pre-deployment Preparation– Build, configure, validate, and prepare mission-ready systems while coordinating release readiness with platform and capability teams.
• On-site Test & Mission Support– Support flight tests, maritime trials, ground testing, customer demonstrations, and operational exercises through system bring-up, troubleshooting, and mission execution.
• Hardware/Software Debugging– Diagnose and resolve integration issues across autonomy software, payload computers, embedded systems, and platform interfaces.
• Mission Data & Debrief Support– Capture mission data, reproduce issues in simulation, and partner with capability owners to rapidly improve future releases.
• Continuous Improvement– Develop tools and engineering processes that improve integration velocity, testing reliability, and mission readiness.
• C2 Interoperability & Standards– Implement and validate interfaces with command-and-control systems while supporting program-appropriate interoperability standards.
• Travel Requirement– Members of this team typically travel around 10–20% of the year to different office locations, customer sites, operator training events, flight tests, and integration exercises.

Skills

C++

Linux

Embedded systems

System integration

Problem solving

SECRET clearance

Education

B.S./M.S. in engineering

Tools

Python

Docker

CI/CD

Job description

Shield AI is seeking engineers for the Autonomous Pilot Integration team to build autonomy capabilities for emerging-domain platforms, including space, maritime, and contested logistics. You will write autonomy code, integrate with platform software, and own the development end-to-end from software-in-the-loop to live test.

You'll collaborate with platform teams, work across autonomy capabilities, perception, and GCS, and contribute to design reviews, ICDs, and pre-deployment preparation.