Staff UAS Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Defense Platforms

AI Chopping Block; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Staff Systems Engineer to lead design, development, and integration of next-gen autonomous aircraft systems for national defense. You will drive system architecture, avionics integration, autonomy, propulsion, sensors, and mission systems across cross-functional teams.

This role requires MBSE expertise, experience with DoD standards, and hands-on verification through flight testing and deployments in contested environments.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of systems engineering in aerospace/defense/autonomous aircraft.
• Experience defining system behavior logic and operational modes.
• Deep expertise in system architecture, avionics integration, and autonomy-driven flight systems.
• Proficiency with MBSE tools (SysML/DOORS/CAMEO) for complex systems design.
• Experience with military aircraft or UAS groups and flight testing.
• Knowledge of DoD acquisition processes, MIL-STDs, and aviation safety standards.

Responsibilities

• Develop and refine the system architecture for the next gen UAS; ensure seamless integration of avionics, autonomy, propulsion, sensor payloads, and mission systems.
• Define and document system-level behavior, including modes, states, transitions, and fault responses.
• Support safety analyses (FHA, FMEA, FTA) by defining behavior under fault conditions.
• Define and manage system requirements; decompose into subsystems with traceability.
• Integrate AI-driven flight control and mission execution capabilities with software teams.
• Use MBSE to create digital system models, conduct trade studies, and optimize performance.
• Conduct risk assessments and trade studies to select best design options.
• Engage with DoD stakeholders and partners to align capabilities with requirements.
• Collaborate across hardware, autonomy, software, propulsion, and flight ops teams.

Skills

System architecture

Autonomy integration

Flight testing

Cross-functional leadership

MBSE

Requirements management

Tools

SysML

DOORS

CAMEO

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Staff Systems Engineer to lead design, development, and integration of next-gen autonomous aircraft systems for national defense. You will drive system architecture, avionics integration, autonomy, propulsion, sensors, and mission systems across cross-functional teams.

This role requires MBSE expertise, experience with DoD standards, and hands-on verification through flight testing and deployments in contested environments.