Senior Test Engineer — Autonomy Software & Simulation

Shield; Washington; On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Senior Test Engineer (Software & Simulation Focus) in the DC area to lead simulation-driven testing and automation for Hivemind autonomy software. You will build test frameworks, validate software in simulated and real-world environments, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive quality across releases.

You will develop automated test plans, diagnose issues, and ensure mission-critical performance and safety requirements are met while contributing to scaling

Qualifications

• Requires 3–5 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 2–4 years and a Master’s; or 2 years with a PhD; or equivalent
• Proficiency in Python
• Experience in robotics, small UAS, or related hands-on engineering projects
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and debugging skills
• Passionate about intelligent aircraft systems
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills with cross-functional teams
• Ability to obtain and maintain a SECRET Clearance; US citizenship required

Responsibilities

• Develop automated regression, integration, and system-level tests to ensure Hivemind software quality and stability across releases
• Identify, reproduce, and diagnose software issues—collaborating with development teams to drive fixes and improvements
• Create and execute test plans and documentation for autonomy software in simulated environments
• Design, implement, and maintain simulation-based test frameworks to validate autonomy behavior and performance
• Build tools in Python to automate testing, data processing, and analysis workflows
• Develop test harnesses and data validation tools for SIL/HIL/VIL and simulation environments
• Contribute to testing methodologies, metrics, and performance benchmarks for autonomy software validation
• Support scaling and reliability of simulation infrastructure for large-scale validation
• Maintain thorough test documentation with traceability across teams
• Work with developers to integrate test coverage into CI/CD pipelines

Skills

Python

Robotics

Test automation

Software debugging

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication

Education

Bachelors degree or higher

Tools

C++

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Senior Test Engineer (Software & Simulation Focus) in the DC area to lead simulation-driven testing and automation for Hivemind autonomy software. You will build test frameworks, validate software in simulated and real-world environments, and collaborate with cross-functional teams to drive quality across releases.

You will develop automated test plans, diagnose issues, and ensure mission-critical performance and safety requirements are met while contributing to scaling