Director, Systems Engineering & Architecture - Hivemind Enterprise

Shield AI•San Diego, CA

About The Position

Shield AI is seeking a Director of Systems Engineering & Architecture (SE&A) for its Hivemind Enterprise organization. The role supports development of the Hivemind autonomy platform and its development ecosystem for AI Pilots. The director will oversee Systems Engineering, System Architecture, Cybersecurity Engineering, and Safety/Airworthiness Engineering, building teams and technical practices to deliver dependable, software-intensive autonomous systems. The director will connect operational product needs to measurable requirements, coherent architectures, and credible verification and assurance evidence. In partnership with Product, Software Engineering, Program Management, and Integration and Test teams, this leader will embed practical engineering rigor throughout the development lifecycle. The position leads the SE&A team, establishes its operating model, and guides requirements, architecture, system modeling, verification and validation, software lifecycle integration, and integrated assurance. It also leads risk-based technical reviews, resolves cross-team issues, and improves engineering methods and workflows. Success is measured through earlier risk discovery, reduced rework, improved integration and release predictability, and timely closure of verification and assurance gaps.

Requirements

At least 15 years of applied systems engineering experience with complex, multidisciplinary systems, including direct involvement in development, integration, verification, and delivery.
Demonstrated success leading engineering teams and senior technical talent, setting technical direction, and driving execution across organizational boundaries.
Deep experience in requirements development and management, including decomposition, allocation, traceability, interface requirements, baselining, and change control.
Demonstrated ability to develop system architectures and use system models to analyze structure, behavior, interfaces, constraints, and design tradeoffs.
Experience defining verification methods, measurable acceptance criteria, representative validation scenarios, and evidence needed to assess system readiness.
Experience applying systems engineering within software development lifecycles, including iterative development, continuous integration, testing, configuration management, and release processes.
Demonstrated ability to improve engineering maturity in iterative development, tailoring rigor to technical risk and achieving measurable delivery benefits.
Ability to lead specialists across cybersecurity, safety, and airworthiness disciplines and communicate technical decisions and risks clearly to engineering, executive, and customer stakeholders.
Experience with autonomy software, AI-enabled systems, robotics, mission systems, or autonomy development platforms and tools.
A degree in a relevant engineering or computer science discipline, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice To Haves

An advanced technical degree.
Experience applying model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and scaling engineering practices without unnecessary process overhead.
Familiarity with SysML and Cameo or similar system modeling tools.
Experience delivering aerospace or defense systems with government customers, platform integrators, or operational users.
Practical experience with safety-critical development, hazard analysis, airworthiness planning, and compliance or certification evidence.
Experience translating threat assessments and security obligations into requirements, architectural controls, and verification activities.

Responsibilities

Hire, develop, and lead Systems Engineering & Architecture disciplines, establishing clear responsibilities, technical standards, and cross-functional partnerships.
Define how SE&A engages with product and engineering teams, prioritizes demands, and allocates resources; establish decision rights, escalation paths, and risk-proportionate practices.
Guide requirements development and management, system modeling, architectural trade studies, interface definition, traceability, and change impact analysis.
Establish system-level verification and validation strategies, measurable acceptance criteria, and evidence expectations; partner with integration and test teams to demonstrate end-to-end capability.
Integrate systems engineering and architecture into iterative planning, design, implementation, testing, release readiness, and sustainment.
Ensure cybersecurity, safety, and airworthiness considerations shape requirements, architecture, development, and verification from the outset.
Lead risk-based design reviews, resolve cross-team technical issues, and provide evidence-based readiness recommendations while preserving designated approval and risk-acceptance authorities.
Establish and continuously improve methods, models, and workflows linking requirements, architecture, implementation, and evidence.
Improve engineering effectiveness by enabling earlier risk discovery, reducing rework, improving integration and release predictability, and closing verification and assurance gaps promptly.