Senior Systems Engineer – Autonomous UAS for Defense

AI Chopping Block; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI in the United States is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer for its next generation UAS program. You will lead architectural design and integration of avionics, autonomy, propulsion, and mission systems to deliver a scalable, mission-ready platform.

You will collaborate with hardware, software, autonomy, flight operations, and manufacturing teams, define system requirements, and support flight testing and deployment in contested environments.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of systems engineering for aerospace/defense/autonomous aircraft.
• Experience defining system behavior logic and operational modes.
• Expertise in system architecture, avionics integration, and autonomy-driven flight systems.
• Proficiency with MBSE, SysML, DOORS, and CAMEO for complex systems design.
• Knowledge of DoD acquisition processes, MIL-STDs, and FAA airworthiness standards.
• Ability to lead cross-functional teams in fast-paced environments.
• Ability to obtain S//SAR level security clearance desired.

Responsibilities

• Develop and refine the system architecture for the next gen UAS, with seamless avionics, autonomy, propulsion, and sensors.
• Define and document 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 system requirements and maintain traceability across the lifecycle.
• Integrate AI-driven flight control, decision-making, and mission execution with autonomy and software teams.
• Use MBSE tools to create digital system models, conduct trade studies, optimize performance.
• Conduct risk management and trade studies to evaluate design alternatives.
• Engage with DoD stakeholders, industry partners, and government agencies to align capabilities.
• Collaborate across hardware, autonomy, software, propulsion, and flight operations teams.

Skills

System architecture

Avionics integration

Autonomy in flight systems

MBSE

SysML

DOORS

CAMEO

DoD knowledge

MIL-STDs / FAA knowledge

Leadership

Tools

DOORS

CAMEO

SysML tooling

Job description

Shield AI in the United States is seeking a Senior Systems Engineer for its next generation UAS program. You will lead architectural design and integration of avionics, autonomy, propulsion, and mission systems to deliver a scalable, mission-ready platform.

You will collaborate with hardware, software, autonomy, flight operations, and manufacturing teams, define system requirements, and support flight testing and deployment in contested environments.