Sea) (R6515)

Shield AI

5d•$175,000 - $315,000

About The Position

Shield AI is seeking a Senior Staff Systems Security Engineer specializing in Program Protection, Anti-Tamper (AT), and Critical Program Information (CPI) to support development of next-generation autonomous military aircraft and associated mission systems. The role leads identification and protection of critical technologies through CPI assessments, threat and vulnerability analysis, protection architecture development, and anti-tamper engineering. It applies DoD program protection guidance and engineering frameworks to turn protection objectives into system requirements, evaluate design alternatives, and advance protection measures through implementation and verification. Working within Systems Engineering & Integrated Test (SEIT), the engineer collaborates with systems engineering, platform engineering, hardware, software, cybersecurity, and Government stakeholders to integrate program protection throughout system development, integration, testing, and fielding. The position provides technical leadership and subject-matter expertise at engineering milestones and coordinates with Government program protection authorities, suppliers, and internal teams to resolve technical risks and mature protection designs.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or a related technical field.
10 or more years of relevant engineering experience in aerospace, defense, embedded systems, systems security engineering, or mission-critical technologies.
Demonstrated experience in program protection, anti-tamper engineering, critical technology protection, or related systems security engineering disciplines.
Experience developing system security architectures, technical requirements, engineering design artifacts, and protection implementation approaches.
Experience with CPI assessments, threat modeling, vulnerability analysis, exploitation risk assessments, or protection trade studies.
Strong understanding of hardware, firmware, embedded software, and system integration considerations related to protecting critical technologies.
Experience with systems engineering processes, requirements decomposition, technical risk management, and verification activities.
Strong technical leadership, analytical, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance and required program access.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience designing, implementing, or verifying anti-tamper protections for military aircraft, weapon systems, autonomous platforms, or embedded mission systems.
Experience applying the DoD Anti-Tamper Engineering Framework (ATEF) and CPI Horizontal Protection Guide (HPG) to program protection assessments, engineering design, and technical implementation.
Experience developing Program Protection Plans, Program Protection Implementation Plans, Anti-Tamper Plans, or CPI assessments for DoD programs.
Familiarity with DoDI 5200.39, DoDD 5200.47E, DoDI 5200.44, NIST SP 800-160, and applicable DoD program protection and systems security engineering guidance.
Experience with embedded protection technologies, including secure boot, hardware roots of trust, tamper detection and response, secure storage, software protection, and hardware or firmware assurance.
Experience working with microelectronics, FPGAs, mission computers, or other critical embedded technologies.
Familiarity with model-based systems engineering (MBSE), SysML, Cameo Systems Modeler, DOORS, and requirements traceability.
Understanding of supply chain risk management, trusted systems, defense exportability, and technology release considerations.
Experience coordinating with Government program protection organizations, anti-tamper authorities, and defense industry partners.
Active Secret or Top Secret clearance; SAP eligibility or prior SAP experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Lead CPI identification, criticality assessments, and technical protection strategies using the DoD CPI Horizontal Protection Guide (HPG), including assessment of organic and inherited CPI and horizontal protection considerations.
Lead anti-tamper engineering activities under the DoD Anti-Tamper Engineering Framework (ATEF), including threat and exploitation analysis, protection requirements, architecture development, design trade studies, and implementation planning.
Define and decompose program protection and anti-tamper requirements into system, subsystem, hardware, and software requirements, maintaining traceability through design implementation and verification.
Collaborate with systems and platform engineering teams to integrate protection measures across aircraft, mission systems, embedded computing, ground control systems, and supporting equipment.
Lead technical development of CPI assessments, Program Protection Implementation Plans (PPIPs), Anti-Tamper Plans, protection trade studies, and related engineering documentation.
Evaluate protection alternatives based on technical effectiveness, implementation feasibility, cost, system performance, integration complexity, and residual risk.
Develop protection verification criteria and support laboratory evaluations, integration testing, and assessments to demonstrate the effectiveness of implemented measures.
Provide subject-matter expertise during SRR, PDR, CDR, and other engineering milestones.
Coordinate with Government program protection authorities, suppliers, and internal engineering teams to resolve technical risks and mature protection designs.