Staff Engineer, Modeling & Simulation (R4869)

The Rundown AI, Inc.; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Benefits

Equity

Job summary

Shield AI in San Diego is seeking a Staff Modeling & Simulation Engineer to design, build, and scale novel aircraft subsystem models and simulators for the next-generation XBAT product line. You will contribute to deterministic, high-performance simulation tooling and automated testing infrastructure.

You will collaborate across autonomy, embedded, GNC, and test engineering to mirror aircraft behavior, perform V&V analyses, and generate insightful reports and visualizations for stakeholders.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Computer Science, Aerospace, Robotics, or related field.
• 7+ years in simulation software development with emphasis on modern C++ (C++17 or later) and performance optimization.
• Strong understanding of rigid-body dynamics, kinematics, aerodynamics, and sensor mechanics.
• Proven experience developing or integrating simulation systems for robotics, aerospace, and/or autonomous systems.
• Ability to debug complex build and runtime environments (CMake, package management, logging, and profiling tools).
• Experience with software testing tools (GTest, etc.)
• Experience with simulation V&V.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills across software, hardware, and systems disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Develop models and infrastructure for the integrated simulation pipeline in C++.
• Design deterministic, high-performance simulation tools capable of faster-than-real-time execution for development, testing, and release.
• Implement test scenarios and write unit, system, and regression tests.
• Collaborate across autonomy, embedded, GNC, and test engineering to ensure the simulation mirrors real aircraft behavior and mission scenarios.
• Contribute to platform-agnostic simulation tooling to accelerate current and future aircraft design and development efforts.
• Perform verification and validation (V&V) analysis activities on modeling tools.
• Conduct system performance analysis and generate reports and visualizations.
• Utilize best practices in C++, simulation architecture, and performance engineering.

Skills

Collaboration

Debugging

Education

BS/MS in Computer Science, Aerospace, Robotics, or related field

Tools

GTest

CMake

Profiling tools

Job description

Job Description:

The Aircraft Simulation team turns frontier autonomy into mission-ready aircraft. We own the commit-to-flight pipeline—deterministic aircraft and mission simulation, HITL/SITL integration, CI/CD, and tooling for automated flight qualification testing. Our goal is simple: make AI fly—safely, reliably, and fast.

As a Staff Modeling & Simulation Engineer, you will be dedicated to Shield AI’s next-generation aircraft program, contributing to our emergent modeling & simulation tooling. You’ll design, build, and scale novel aircraft subsystem models, develop infrastructure that enables robust automated testing for our next generation XBAT product line, and conduct system performance analysis.

What you'll do:

• Develop models and infrastructure for the integrated simulation pipeline in C++.
• Design deterministic, high-performance simulation tools capable of faster-than-real-time execution for development, testing, and release.
• Implement test scenarios and write unit, system, and regression tests.
• Collaborate across autonomy, embedded, GNC, and test engineering to ensure the simulation mirrors real aircraft behavior and mission scenarios.
• Contribute to platform-agnostic simulation tooling to accelerate current and future aircraft design and development efforts.
• Perform verification and validation (V&V) analysis activities on modeling tools.
• Conduct system performance analysis and generate reports and visualizations.
• Utilize best practices in C++, simulation architecture, and performance engineering.

Required qualifications:

• BS or MS in Computer Science, Aerospace, Robotics, or related field.
• 7+ years of experience in simulation software development, with emphasis on modern C++ (C++17 or later) and performance optimization.
• Strong understanding of rigid-body dynamics, kinematics, aerodynamics, and sensor mechanics.
• Proven experience developing or integrating simulation systems for robotics, aerospace, and/or autonomous systems.
• Ability to debug complex build and runtime environments (CMake, package management, logging, and profiling tools).
• Experience with software testing tools (GTest, etc.)
• Experience with simulation V&V.
• Strong collaboration and communication skills across software, hardware, and systems disciplines.

Preferred qualifications:

• Grasp of real-time and deterministic software design, including multi-threading, synchronization, and memory management.
• Experience with DevOps-integrated simulation workflows, including CI/CD and automated hardware testing environments.
• Working knowledge of Python for data analysis, test automation, or simulation orchestration.
• Familiarity with aircraft and flight physics modeling.

Full-time regular employee offer package:

Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity

Temporary employee offer package:

Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)

Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.

Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.