Senior Staff Engineer, Ground System Software - Ranger (R6424)

Shield AI•Seattle, WA

2d•$230,000 - $350,000

About The Position

Shield AI is seeking an experienced Ground Systems Software Engineer to help define, develop, integrate, and validate complex software systems in alignment with system-level requirements, architecture, and program objectives. The role combines software design and development expertise with systems engineering knowledge, including requirements management, model-based systems engineering, verification and validation, configuration management, customer communication, and cross-functional technical leadership. The engineer will help develop software architectures and code for complex, distributed, mission-critical systems, from concept through deployment and sustainment. The work includes designing ground control software for low-latency communication with UAVs and autonomous platforms; building client and server applications for telemetry processing, mission planning, and real-time control; and developing React and TypeScript user interfaces for operator workflows and visualization. The engineer will collaborate with autonomy, embedded systems, backend, UX, hardware, network, test, and integration teams to deliver integrated solutions. The position also works closely with systems engineers to derive and trace software requirements, support system decomposition and interface definition, participate in architecture trade studies and technical decisions, and contribute to system design reviews and technical milestones. The role includes creating and maintaining architecture diagrams and behavior documents for government reference architectures and customer deliverables, and communicating technical concepts to engineering, program management, and customer stakeholders.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
At least 8 years of software engineering experience.
At least 3 years of software architecture or technical leadership experience.
Proficiency in a strongly typed programming language such as C#, TypeScript, Java, or C++, with exposure to lower-level systems or protocol integration.
Familiarity with software development lifecycle (SDLC) methodologies.
Understanding of systems engineering processes and standards.
Experience with requirements management and traceability practices.
Experience using version control and CI/CD tools.

Nice To Haves

Experience in aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous systems, aviation, automotive, telecommunications, or another complex systems domain.
Experience with ground control station (GCS) software, mission planning tools, or real-time visualization platforms.
Familiarity with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methodologies.
Experience with systems engineering tools such as Cameo Systems Modeler / MagicDraw, Stell, JIRA, or Confluence.
Experience with cloud-native architectures, containerization, and orchestration technologies.
Familiarity with Autonomy Government Reference Architectures (A-GRA), Open Mission Systems (OMS), and Universal Command & Control Interface.
Ability to operate effectively across multiple engineering disciplines.
Strong systems thinking and problem-solving abilities.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to translate complex system requirements into practical software solutions.
Experience balancing technical, programmatic, and operational constraints.
Strong leadership and collaboration skills.
Experience developing and managing Interface Control Documents (ICDs).

Responsibilities

Participate in developing software architectures and code for complex, distributed, mission-critical systems.
Engage in software design and development from concept through deployment and sustainment.
Work with software responsible engineers to develop and model scalable, maintainable software solutions using modern programming languages, frameworks, and system modeling tools.
Develop, review, and maintain architecture diagrams supporting government reference architectures.
Work with internal stakeholders to develop software architecture behavior diagrams and documents for customer deliverables.
Communicate technical concepts to engineering, program management, and customer stakeholders.
Design, develop, and optimize ground control software enabling low-latency communication with UAVs and other autonomous platforms.
Build high-performance client and server applications for telemetry processing, mission planning, and real-time control.
Implement responsive React and TypeScript user interfaces for operator workflows and visualization of spatial data, sensor feeds, and mission state.
Collaborate with autonomy, embedded systems, backend, and UX teams to deliver integrated, field-ready solutions.
Collaborate with systems engineers to derive software requirements from system-level requirements and operational needs.
Maintain traceability between software solutions and stakeholder, system, and subsystem requirements.
Participate in architecture trade studies and technical decision-making activities.
Support system decomposition, interface definition, and requirements allocation.
Contribute to system design reviews, including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and related technical milestones.
Work with hardware, network, test, and integration teams to ensure end-to-end system performance.