Senior Autonomy Engineer - Tactical UAV & DoD Systems

Shield AI; Washington; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent Medical Coverage

Stock Benefits

401K Services and Match

Flexible Work Hours

Onsite Gym (DC)

Free Parking

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking an experienced autonomy engineer to design and implement tactical autonomy for unmanned aircraft across air, land, and sea domains. The role emphasizes high-performance software for planning, decision-making, and behavior execution with multi-agent coordination.

The ideal candidate brings 10+ years of relevant experience (or 9 with a master's, 7 with a PhD), strong C++/Python skills, and familiarity with RTOS.

Qualifications

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent practical experience
• Proficiency in C++ and Python; familiarity with RTOS
• Experience with unmanned system technologies and algorithms in air domain; 10+ years with Bachelors, 9 with Masters, 7 with PhD

Responsibilities

• Design tactical autonomy algorithms for unmanned aircraft in air, land, and sea domains
• Develop high-performance software modules for planning, decision-making, and behavior execution
• Implement and test behavior architectures enabling multi-agent coordination and target engagement
• Deploy autonomy capabilities to real platforms and participate in field tests and flight demos
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams across perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and flight test

Skills

C++

Python

RTOS familiarity

Robotics

Motion planning

Behavior modeling

Decision-making

ML/RL in autonomy

Education

BS/MS in Computer Science or Engineering

Tools

AFSIM

NGTS

UCI standards

OMS standards

Job description

Shield AI is seeking an experienced autonomy engineer to design and implement tactical autonomy for unmanned aircraft across air, land, and sea domains. The role emphasizes high-performance software for planning, decision-making, and behavior execution with multi-agent coordination.

The ideal candidate brings 10+ years of relevant experience (or 9 with a master's, 7 with a PhD), strong C++/Python skills, and familiarity with RTOS.