Senior Autonomy Software Engineer - Multi-Agent Systems

Shield AI; San Mateo (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent Medical Coverage

Mental Health Employee Assistance Plan

Paid Parental Leave

Pet Insurance

Flexible Work Hours

Onsite Gym (DC)

Gym Discount (San Diego)

Free Parking

Stock Benefits

401K Services and Match

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking an experienced Autonomy engineer to advance tactical autonomy across air, land, and maritime platforms. You will design multi-agent coordination, planning, and behavior architectures, delivering high-performance software integrated with perception and flight testing teams.

The role emphasizes real-world deployment, rigorous validation, and collaboration across DoD-aligned programs. A SECRET clearance or eligibility is highly desirable, with travel typical for field

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in CS/EE/ME/Aerospace or equivalent practical experience; typically 7–10 years depending on degree.
• Strong programming in C++ and Python, RTOS familiarity.
• Experience with unmanned system technologies (air domain) and planning/behavior/decision-making.
• Experience applying ML/RL techniques in autonomy pipelines.
• Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.
• Excellent communication and teamwork in multidisciplinary environments.
• Hands-on experience supporting flight demos or live exercises.

Responsibilities

• Design autonomy algorithms to enable single- and multi-agent platforms across air, land, and sea domains.
• Develop high-performance software modules for planning, decision-making, and behavior execution.
• Test and validate behavior architectures for multi-agent coordination and mission objectives.
• Integrate autonomy solutions with perception, simulation, hardware, and flight test teams.
• Deploy capabilities to real platforms and participate in field tests and demonstrations.
• Contribute to R&D roadmaps by prototyping new algorithms for tactical capabilities.
• Support defense-focused programs and adapt autonomy solutions to evolving missions.

Skills

C++

Python

RTOS

Unmanned systems

Motion planning

Behavior modeling

Decision making

Reinforcement learning

ML pipelines

Secret clearance eligible

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/EE/ME/Aerospace or equivalent

Tools

AFSIM

NGTS

Job description

Shield AI is seeking an experienced Autonomy engineer to advance tactical autonomy across air, land, and maritime platforms. You will design multi-agent coordination, planning, and behavior architectures, delivering high-performance software integrated with perception and flight testing teams.

The role emphasizes real-world deployment, rigorous validation, and collaboration across DoD-aligned programs. A SECRET clearance or eligibility is highly desirable, with travel typical for field