Staff Engineer, Autonomy Capabilities – Maritime (R5325)

AI Chopping Block; Washington, Northern (District of Columbia, KY); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 205,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Staff Engineer to lead the technical delivery of complex autonomy capabilities for USVs, UUVs, and cooperative UAVs. You’ll blend control theory with optimization and drive execution across development teams.

You will work across perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and operational test to ensure seamless integration of autonomy solutions on real-world platforms, with travel to various site locations expected.

Qualifications

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent
• Proficiency in C++ and Python; RTOS familiarity
• Background in robotics, motion planning, autonomy or related fields
• Experience with unmanned systems and related algorithms (space domain a plus)
• Experience with simulation tools (AFSIM, NGTS) and testing

Responsibilities

• Lead autonomy capability delivery across complex programs and multi-agent contexts
• Blend traditional control systems with optimization and ML approaches
• Develop scalable software with clear interfaces and TRL insertions
• Collaborate with perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and OT teams
• Support integration events, demos, and mission-log analysis
• Contribute to autonomy roadmaps and prototyping new algorithms
• Travel approximately 25% of the year to sites and customer locations

Skills

C++

Python

RTOS

Robotics

Unmanned systems

Simulation tools

Clearance: SECRET

Education

BS in CS/EE/ME

Tools

AFSIM

NGTS

Job description

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BATaircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

The Autonomy Capabilities Team develops functionality to automate single- and multi-agent teams of platforms in pursuit of mission objectives and acts as a central discipline-aligned focal-point for encouraging consistent usage of technical approaches across business portfolios. This team operates at all levels of the command-and-control hierarchy (from advanced control laws, through motion planning, and up to advanced tactical behaviors and multi-agent coordination) and across a multitude of mission sets, platform types, and operational domains (e.g., air, sea, space). The team puts a strong emphasis on both fundamentals (e.g., aircraft kinematics/dynamics, trajectory design, optimization, information fusion, efficient algorithms, etc.) and software integration skillsets (e.g. structures, protocols, threading, interface management, etc.) to bring market-differentiating capabilities to customers that seamlessly operate within their integration contexts.

This position is perfect for an individual who enjoys solving complex problems across a diverse set of programs and integration contexts. An ideal candidate is expected to address operational system needs through a multitude of advanced methodologies that blend traditional control system approaches with advanced optimization. Developed solutions are expected to be integrated into real-world platforms with near-term program impacts and rewards and so balancing theory with practice and rigorous implementation is paramount.

About the Job:

Focusing on the maritime portfolio,you’llbecreating autonomy capabilities forUSVs,UUVs, and cooperating UAVsthat enable them to perform advanced single- and multi-agent teamingmissionsbeyond conventional motion planning and waypoint following.The functionality you add will enable teams to use their diverse payloads and maneuvering characteristics tosearch for,localize,andpursuetargets while avoiding sensed threats and obstacles that pose a risk to platform safety.In many of these applications,you’llhave the opportunity to build capabilities from the ground up and be the first to integrate them onto new platforms.You’lltraditionally start with shorter-term R&D efforts or aligned customer programs but with the intent that successful efforts will grow into larger, multi-year programs.

As a Staff Engineer, you will lead the technical delivery of complex autonomy capabilities and demonstrate the ability to operate in significantly more grey space than more junior engineers, helping customers shape their requirements, define technical approaches for the team, and drive technical execution throughout the development process.You will combine your deep technical expertise with systems-level thinking to deliver scalable and operationally ready autonomy solutions.

What you’ll do:

• RobustMotion Planning – Automate unmanned surface vehicle (USV)and/or unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV)maneuvering throughadvanced motion planningandadherence to safety constraints includingkeep-out volumes, cooperative and uncooperative vehicles,anddepth limitations

• Localization andTracking – Employ cutting edge approaches for passive and active localization by defining fusion modalities, sensor requirements, and observability-aware maneuvering capabilities to maximize information gleaned from single- or multi-agent sensor networks

• Safe Maritime Operations – Keep vehicle safety as a central focus within autonomous behavior architectures to provide run-time assurance, ensure COLREGS adherence, and build operator trust in advanced mission autonomy

• Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Collaboration – Develop distributed optimization and task allocation approaches for heterogenous teaming in order to accomplish mission objectives by maximally utilizing the diverse capabilities of agents to overall team advantage

• Rigorous Software Development – Develop high-performance software modules that are well-tested, have clear interfaces and span-of-control, and are ready for mid-to-high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) insertions

• Cross-Functional Collaboration – Collaborate with cross-functional teams including perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and operational test to ensure seamless integration of autonomy solutions on real-world platforms

• Deployment & Test Support – Deploy autonomy capabilities to real surface vehicles, supporting integration and demonstration events as well as analysis of mission logs to verify software performance and validate system operational effect

• R&D and Road-mapping – Contribute to autonomy roadmaps by researching and prototyping new algorithms, identifying tactical capability gaps, and proposing novel solutions that advance Shield AI’s mission

• Travel Requirement – Members of this team typically travel around25%of the year (to different office locations, customer sites, and flight integration events).

Required Qualifications:

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and/or similar degree, or equivalent practical experience
• 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 robotics technologies related to motion planning, behavior modeling, decision-making, or autonomous system design.
• 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) 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.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experiencein multiple aerospace domains (e.g., air, land, sea, space)
• Experience across a breadth of methodologies from classical control through optimization and appliedML/RL
• Background in collaborative behaviorsandswarm robotics
• Familiarity withdomain-relevantDoD or government programs
• Hands-on experience supportingintegration events, customer demos, and/orlive exercises