Staff DevOps Build Engineer: Accelerate Autonomous Aircraft

Front Door Defense; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI in San Diego is seeking a Staff Engineer, DevOps to own and optimize the build system for autonomous aircraft software cycles. You will focus on DevEx, drive faster development through improved build/test pipelines, and align with engineers to deliver robust, scalable tooling.

You will lead CI integration with simulation and HIL environments, monitor performance, and establish best practices for reliable software delivery in a fast-paced aerospace setting.

Qualifications

• BS in CS, CE, EE or related field with 7+ years industry experience (or MS/PhD with 5+ years).
• Deep CMake/C++ expertise or equivalent.
• Strong understanding of dependency management and proficiency with Conan or CPM.
• Proficiency with containers and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes, cloud build clusters).
• Strong scripting skills (Python, Bash).
• Hands-on experience integrating automated testing into CI pipelines.
• Demonstrated success improving developer productivity at scale.
• Demonstrated track record of excellence as a primary contributor on projects.

Responsibilities

• Be the expert on our native (C++) software build process.
• Improve developer velocity by reducing build/test cycle time and eliminating bottlenecks.
• Collaborate with Software Engineers to understand requirements, propose designs, and implement solutions.
• Partner with developers to resolve build/test failures quickly and set best practices for integration.
• Integrate CI pipelines with HIL and simulation environments for automated validation.
• Implement monitoring, dashboards, and alerts related to build system performance for local and CI workflows.
• Use agentic solutions to identify root cause around build failures and provide feedback to engineers.

Skills

CMake/C++

Dependency management

Conan/CPM

Docker

Kubernetes

Python

CI/CD

Cloud platforms

Monitoring

Robotics/Aerospace

Developer productivity

Education

BS in CS/CE/EE or related

MS/PhD with 5+ years

Tools

Conan

CPM

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

Ansible

Grafana

Prometheus

Azure DevOps

Jenkins

GitLab

Job description

Shield AI in San Diego is seeking a Staff Engineer, DevOps to own and optimize the build system for autonomous aircraft software cycles. You will focus on DevEx, drive faster development through improved build/test pipelines, and align with engineers to deliver robust, scalable tooling.

You will lead CI integration with simulation and HIL environments, monitor performance, and establish best practices for reliable software delivery in a fast-paced aerospace setting.