Staff Engineer, Operational Analytics for Autonomous Aircraft

Shield; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Staff Engineer, Operational Analyst to drive the modeling, simulation, and analysis of its autonomous aircraft systems. This role evaluates mission effectiveness, survivability, and operational impact across platforms, collaborating with engineering, product, and defense stakeholders.

This position requires deep understanding of military operations, wargaming, M&S, and analytic techniques.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in operational analysis, M&S, or military operations research.
• Expertise in mission analysis, operational planning, and wargaming methodologies.
• Proficiency with AFSIM, STK, MATLAB, or other M&S tools used for aerospace and defense applications.
• Ability to apply modern compute, data science, and software development best practices (e.g., cloud/HPC workflows, containerization, CI/CD, automated testing, and reproducible analysis) to build and maintain reliable simulations and analytics.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute operational analysis strategies for autonomous aircraft in real-world military scenarios.
• Lead modeling, simulation, and wargaming to evaluate system performance, mission impact, and survivability in contested environments.
• Translate operational insights into design decisions and system improvements with engineering teams.
• Conduct trade studies and sensitivity analyses under varying operational conditions and threats.
• Utilize tools like AFSIM, STK, MATLAB, and Python to build high-fidelity mission models.
• Analyze force-on-force engagements, sensor effectiveness, and autonomy-driven decision-making to optimize mission success.
• Collaborate with DoD stakeholders, operators, and warfighters to understand mission needs and align system capabilities with requirements.
• Support CONOPS development for new AI-driven aircraft capabilities.
• Identify emerging threats and operational challenges to keep Shield AI ahead of adversaries.
• Develop and present technical reports, briefings, and recommendations to senior leadership, customers, and government agencies.
• Leverage modern compute and development best practices to build, run, and iterate high-fidelity simulation pipelines quickly and reliably.

Skills

Operational analysis

Modeling & simulation

Cloud/HPC workflows

Containerization

CI/CD

Data science

Communication & briefing

Agile development

Tools

AFSIM

STK

MATLAB

Python

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Staff Engineer, Operational Analyst to drive the modeling, simulation, and analysis of its autonomous aircraft systems. This role evaluates mission effectiveness, survivability, and operational impact across platforms, collaborating with engineering, product, and defense stakeholders.

This position requires deep understanding of military operations, wargaming, M&S, and analytic techniques.