Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomous UAS & Flight Ops

Shield; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 140,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Benefits

Equity

Job summary

Shield AI, a defense-tech innovator, seeks a Senior Systems Engineer to design, develop, and integrate autonomous aircraft systems for the next-gen UAS program. You’ll lead system architecture and ensure seamless integration of avionics, autonomy, propulsion, sensors, and mission systems.

You will work cross-functionally with hardware, software, and flight operations teams to define requirements, conduct MBSE trades, and support flight testing while complying with MIL-STDs and safety standards.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of systems engineering experience in aerospace, defense, or autonomous aircraft.
• Experience defining system behavior logic and operational modes.
• Deep expertise in system architecture, avionics integration, and autonomy-driven flight systems.
• Proficiency with MBSE tools (SysML, DOORS, or CAMEO).
• Familiarity with DoD acquisition processes, MIL-STDs, and flight safety standards.

Responsibilities

• Develop and refine the system architecture for the next-gen UAS, ensuring seamless integration of avionics, autonomy, propulsion, sensor payloads, and mission systems.
• Define system-level behavior, including modes, states, transitions, and fault responses.
• Support safety analyses (FHA, FMEA, FTA) by defining behavior under fault conditions.
• Define and manage top-level system requirements and maintain traceability across the development lifecycle.
• Collaborate with DoD stakeholders, industry partners, and government agencies to align capabilities with operational requirements.
• Cross-functional collaboration with hardware, software, autonomy, propulsion, and flight operations teams to drive rapid development cycles.

Skills

System architecture

Aerospace systems

Cross-functional leadership

MBSE

DoD MIL-STDs

Tools

DOORS

SysML

CAMEO

Job description

Shield AI, a defense-tech innovator, seeks a Senior Systems Engineer to design, develop, and integrate autonomous aircraft systems for the next-gen UAS program. You’ll lead system architecture and ensure seamless integration of avionics, autonomy, propulsion, sensors, and mission systems.

You will work cross-functionally with hardware, software, and flight operations teams to define requirements, conduct MBSE trades, and support flight testing while complying with MIL-STDs and safety standards.