Senior Staff Engineer, Space Autonomy & Satellite Systems

InvestedintheMission; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 221,000 - 331,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Bonus

Benefits

Job summary

Shield AI in San Diego is seeking a Sr Staff Engineer to lead the technical direction for the space portfolio, driving the evolution of autonomy architectures across multiple programs and balancing theory with practical implementation for near-term impact.

You will mentor engineers, convert ambiguous customer needs into tangible designs, and work across perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and flight test to ensure seamless integration of autonomy solutions on real space vehicles; expect

Qualifications

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 9 years and a Master’s degree; or 7 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.
• Proficiency in C++ and Python, and familiarity with RTOS.
• Significant robotics-related background in motion planning, behavior modeling, decision-making, or autonomous system design.
• Experience with unmanned system technologies and related algorithms (space domain preferred).
• Experience with simulation tools and environments (AFSIM, NGTS) for testing and validation.

Responsibilities

• Multi-Objective Optimization for large-scale distributed decision making and scheduling.
• Weapons Target Assignment and motion planning for space vehicle fleets.
• Advance topics in low-SWaP optimal control and tactical behavior management.
• Develop high-performance software modules with clear interfaces and TRL readiness.
• Collaborate with perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and flight test teams for real-world integration.
• Deploy autonomy capabilities to space vehicles and analyze mission logs for validation.
• Contribute to autonomy roadmaps by researching new algorithms and identifying gaps.

Skills

C++

Python

RTOS

Robotics

Unmanned systems

Optimization

Education

BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering

Tools

AFSIM

NGTS

Job description

Shield AI in San Diego is seeking a Sr Staff Engineer to lead the technical direction for the space portfolio, driving the evolution of autonomy architectures across multiple programs and balancing theory with practical implementation for near-term impact.

You will mentor engineers, convert ambiguous customer needs into tangible designs, and work across perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and flight test to ensure seamless integration of autonomy solutions on real space vehicles; expect