Senior Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration – Expeditionary (R5208)

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&nbsp;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&nbsp;<a href="https://shield.ai/" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.shield.ai</a>. Follow Shield AI on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/shield-ai" rel="noopener noreferrer">LinkedIn</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/shieldaitech" rel="noopener noreferrer">X</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/shield_ai" rel="noopener noreferrer">Instagram</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Shield_AI" rel="noopener noreferrer">YouTube</a>.&nbsp;<br>

<p>The Autonomous Pilot Integration team for expeditionary platforms builds autonomy solutions for V-BAT — an unmanned&nbsp;aircraft&nbsp;operating&nbsp;in expeditionary environments for ISR, target acquisition, communications, and multi-agent missions. The team also builds autonomy for X-BAT, a new platform under development by the aircraft team; for X-BAT, the team builds on top of the existing mission autonomy solution from the Strategic Systems (ACP) portfolio and works closely with the aircraft team on the flight-autonomy interface. We combine capabilities from the Autonomy Capabilities team (motion planning, tactics), the Perception team (e.g.,&nbsp;ViDAR, ATR), and the&nbsp;HivemindSDK&nbsp;to develop the autonomy software that runs on these platforms, then integrate, validate, and field it on the real hardware — for U.S. and international defense customers.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this role, you'll develop new autonomy capabilities — including mission behaviors, platform-specific control (including VTOL transitions), multi-agent coordination, contingencies, and executive autonomy — and own major features from software-in-the-loop, to hardware-in-the-loop, to vehicle-in-the-loop, to live flight test.&nbsp;You'll&nbsp;partner closely with the Aircraft team, Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, GCS, feature crews, and customer stakeholders to deliver mission-ready autonomy software and solve complex integration challenges. As a senior engineer,&nbsp;you'll&nbsp;provide technical leadership across major capabilities, mentor teammates, influence&nbsp;architecture&nbsp;and integration strategy, and help drive successful field deployments for both mature and emerging expeditionary platforms.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This team has a strong fielded-operator culture — long-endurance ISR missions, customer-driven workflow iteration, and demanding live exercises across multiple U.S. and international services.&nbsp;It's&nbsp;a hands-on role for engineers who want to see their software&nbsp;operate&nbsp;on real&nbsp;aircraft&nbsp;and directly support operators in the field.&nbsp;</p>

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What You'll Do:

<p><strong>Develop &amp; Field Autonomy</strong>&nbsp;– Develop and integrate autonomy software for V-BAT and X-BAT, including mission behaviors, platform-specific control,&nbsp;payload&nbsp;and sensor integration (e.g.,&nbsp;ViDAR, EO/IR), multi-agent coordination, contingencies, and executive autonomy. Own major features from software-in-the-loop through live flight testing.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Aircraft Team Partnership</strong>&nbsp;– Collaborate closely with the Aircraft team to integrate autonomy capabilities,&nbsp;validate&nbsp;platform interfaces, coordinate hardware/software compatibility, and support release readiness.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Collaboration Across Teams &amp; Partners</strong>&nbsp;– Partner with the Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, GCS, Strategic Systems (ACP), feature crews, and customer stakeholders to deliver integrated mission capabilities.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Technical Leadership</strong>&nbsp;– Own&nbsp;significant features&nbsp;or subsystems, drive technical execution, mentor teammates, and contribute to design reviews and integration planning.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Pre-deployment Preparation</strong>&nbsp;– Build, configure,&nbsp;validate, and prepare mission-ready systems while ensuring software, hardware, and operator workflows are ready for deployment.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>On-site Test &amp; Mission Support</strong>&nbsp;– Support flight tests, customer demonstrations, operator training, and deployment events through system bring-up, troubleshooting, and mission execution.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Hardware/Software</strong> <strong>Debugging</strong><strong>&nbsp;</strong>– Diagnose integration issues across autonomy software, payload computers, embedded systems, and platform interfaces using simulation and operational testing.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Mission Data &amp; Continuous Improvement</strong>&nbsp;– Analyze mission data, drive root-cause analysis, and build tools and processes that improve integration efficiency and mission reliability.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>C2 Interoperability &amp; Standards</strong>&nbsp;– Implement and&nbsp;validate&nbsp;interfaces with GCS and command-and-control systems while supporting compliance with STANAG 4586, UCI, and OMS.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Travel Requirement</strong>&nbsp;– Members of this team typically travel around 10–20% of the year to different office locations, customer sites, operator training events, flight tests, and integration exercises.&nbsp;</p>

Required Qualifications:

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<p>BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

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<p>5+ years of relevant experience (or equivalent advanced degree experience).&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

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<p>Strong C++ development experience in real-time or embedded systems.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

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<p>Experience with Linux-based development and embedded systems.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

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<p>Experience integrating complex software systems and troubleshooting across hardware/software boundaries.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

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<p>Experience supporting system integration, testing, or field events.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

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<p>Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.&nbsp;</p>

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Preferred Qualifications:

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<p>Experience with unmanned&nbsp;aircraft&nbsp;or autonomous systems.&nbsp;</p></li></ul>