Staff Safety-Critical Software Engineer (R5788)

Shield; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to lead the design, development, and integration of a Run-Time Assurance (RTA) product for safe autonomous operation. The Foundations team delivers core capabilities for edge intelligence and resilience across diverse platforms.

You will drive architecture, testing, and certification activities, mentor engineers, and collaborate on ensuring robust, verifiable software with DO-178C and MIL-HDBK-516 standards.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 9 years with a Master’s; or 7 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.
• Demonstrated excellence in designing and developing C++ based safety-critical software with Real-Time guarantees.
• Experience mentoring other engineers to promote software best practices.
• Experience integrating software on real-world physical systems to improve performance and reliability.
• Deep expertise in C++ software architecture design patterns and practical implementations.
• Strong knowledge of software assurance certifications such as DO-178C and MIL-HDBK-516.
• Strong Git and Linux development skills, plus CI/CD and test-driven development.
• A track record of technical leadership and guiding teams through complex challenges.

Responsibilities

• Drive architecture, development, integration and testing of a Run-Time Assurance module for safe autonomous operation.
• Collaborate with Foundations engineers to integrate with low-assurance mission-autonomy software and high-assurance middleware.
• Specialize and test the RTA capability across platforms to ensure robust fail-safe behavior.
• Promote principled software development practices, including code analysis, audit trails and ADRs.
• Generate artifacts to enable certifiability of Foundations software (ADRs, ICDs, system models).
• Mentor Foundations developers on safe software development to improve quality and assurance.

Skills

C++ design

RT systems

Mentoring

Git/Linux

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/EE or equivalent

Tools

Git

Linux

CI/CD

Static analysis tools

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-BAT aircraft, 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 .

Job Description:

Shield AI is seeking a Staff Software Engineer to help drive the design, development, and integration of a safety critical Run-Time Assurance (RTA) product. The Hivemind Foundations team is responsible for a suite of core products and capabilities that brings resilient autonomy and intelligence to aircraft and other platforms operating in complex environments. The RTA product that the Foundations team develops is a real-time safety capability that helps keep autonomy safe, predictable, and effective at the edge.

What you’ll do:

• Drive architecture, development, integration and testing of an extensible, configurable Run-Time Assurance (RTA) module that ensures safe operation of autonomous systems in diverse, adversarial conditions.
• Work closely with other engineers in Foundations to design and integrate with the low-assurance mission-autonomy software and high-assurance middleware.
• Specialize, integrate and test the RTA capability on a diverse set of platforms in various conditions to ensure robust fail-safe behavior.
• Drive principled software development practices across Foundations including but not limited to code analysis, audit trail, principled review processes.
• Collaborate with the team to generate artifacts that enable certifiability of Foundations software, including but not limited to static & dynamic analysis reports, software documentation, architecture decision records (ADRs), interface control diagrams (ICDs), system models.
• Mentor and guide Foundations developers on practices of safe software development to enhance software quality and assurance.

Required qualifications:

• Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 9 years with a Master’s degree; or 7 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.
• Demonstrated excellence in designing and developing C++ based safety-critical software systems with Real-Time guarantees.
• Experience working as a mentor to other engineers in a role driving software best practices to enhance software quality.
• Experience integrating software on real-world physical systems and driving up performance and reliability.
• Deep expertise in C++ software architecture design patterns and their practical implementation.
• Strong knowledge of software assurance certifications such as DO-178C and MIL-HDBK-516.
• Strong Git and Linux development skills, along with modern software development practices (e.g., CI/CD, test-driven development).
• A track record of technical leadership, with the ability to set and maintain high standards, guide teams through complex technical challenges, and collaborate effectively.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience developing against strict C++ coding standards (e.g., MISRA C++, JSF AV C++)
• Hands-on experience with airworthiness certifications such as MIL-HDBK-516, DO-178C.
• Experience taking a solution through a certification process and achieving a certification.

$200,000 - $300,000 a year

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.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.