Staff Autonomy Engineer: Space & Multi-Agent

BlackCube Labs; Washington, Northern (District of Columbia, KY); Hybrid; USD 188,000 - 281,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Staff Engineer to lead the technical delivery of advanced autonomy capabilities for space-related platforms. You will drive multi-agent coordination, optimization, and integration across campaigns, balancing theory with practical deployment on real-world systems.

You will collaborate with perception, planning, simulation, and hardware teams, shaping requirements and directing execution for scalable, field-ready autonomy solutions.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a minimum of 7 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 6 years and a Master’s degree; or 4 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience
• Proficiency in programming languages such as C++ and Python, and familiarity with real-time operating systems (RTOS)
• Significant background in robotic technology areas related to control systems, motion planning, optimization, tactical behaviors, and distributed decision-making
• Significant experience with unmanned system technologies and accompanying algorithms (ideally in the space domain specifically)
• Experience with simulation tools and environments (e.g., AFSIM, NGTS, or similar) for testing and validation
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to troubleshoot and optimize system performance
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with the ability to work effectively in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment
• Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance or higher

Responsibilities

• Lead the technical delivery of complex autonomy capabilities and demonstrate the ability to operate in significantly more grey space than more junior engineers
• Help customers shape their requirements, define technical approaches for the team, and drive technical execution throughout the development process
• Combine deep technical expertise with systems-level thinking to deliver scalable and operationally ready autonomy solutions
• Multi-Objective Optimization to perform large-scale distributed decision making, task allocation, and resource scheduling
• Weapons Target Assignment and motion planning for space vehicle fleets and interceptors
• Advance state-of-the-art in low-SWaP optimal control and tactical behavior management
• Rigid software development of high-performance modules with clear interfaces for TRL insertions
• Cross-functional collaboration with perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and flight test teams
• Deploy autonomy capabilities to real-space vehicles and analyze mission logs to verify performance
• Contribute to autonomy roadmaps by researching algorithms and identifying gaps
• Travel 10-15% of the year to office locations, customer sites, and flight integration events

Skills

C++

Python

RTOS

Robotics

Motion planning

Distributed decision-making

Unmanned systems

Simulation

Communication

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor's degree

Master’s degree

PhD

Tools

AFSIM

NGTS

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Staff Engineer to lead the technical delivery of advanced autonomy capabilities for space-related platforms. You will drive multi-agent coordination, optimization, and integration across campaigns, balancing theory with practical deployment on real-world systems.

You will collaborate with perception, planning, simulation, and hardware teams, shaping requirements and directing execution for scalable, field-ready autonomy solutions.