Staff DevOps Build Engineer for Autonomous Aircraft

Shield AI; San Diego (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI in the United States is building autonomous aircraft and seeks a DevOps Build Engineer to own the build system for XBAT/VBAT. You will focus on DevEx and implement best practices to accelerate development cycles.

You will be the expert on the native C++ build, reduce pipeline bottlenecks, integrate CI with simulation environments, and create monitoring dashboards to track performance across local development and CI.

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 either 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 - showcasing the ability to navigate through development cycles, obstacles, and deliver high-quality solutions in a fast-paced environment
• Proficiency with CICD tools (Azure DevOps, Jenkins, Gitlab).
• Cloud Operations experience (Azure, AWS, GCP).
• Familiarity with infrastructure-as-code (Terraform, Ansible) and monitoring (Grafana, Prometheus).
• Background in robotics, autonomy, or aerospace systems.

Responsibilities

• Be the expert on our native (C++) software build process.
• Improve developer velocity by reducing build/test cycle time and eliminating pipeline bottlenecks.
• Collaborate with Software Engineers to understand their requirements, propose designs, and implement identified 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 both local development and CI workflows.
• Use agentic solutions to aid in quickly identifying root cause around build failures and getting the appropriate feedback to a Software Engineer.

Skills

CMake/C++

Dependency management

Conan/CPM

Containers/Kubernetes

Python

CI/CD

Cloud platforms

Scripting

Robotics/Aerospace

Education

BS in CS/CE/EE or related, 7+ years

MS/PhD with 5+ years

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Terraform

Ansible

Grafana

Prometheus

Azure DevOps

Jenkins

GitLab CI

Job description

Shield AI in the United States is building autonomous aircraft and seeks a DevOps Build Engineer to own the build system for XBAT/VBAT. You will focus on DevEx and implement best practices to accelerate development cycles.

You will be the expert on the native C++ build, reduce pipeline bottlenecks, integrate CI with simulation environments, and create monitoring dashboards to track performance across local development and CI.