Staff Software Engineer, Autonomy Capabilities (R5368)

Shield AI•San Mateo, CA

About The Position

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 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. The Autonomy Capabilities Team develops functionality to automate single- and multi-agent teams of platforms in pursuit of mission objectives and acts as a central discipline-aligned focal-point for encouraging consistent usage of technical approaches across business portfolios. This team operates at all levels of the command-and-control hierarchy (from advanced control laws, through motion planning, and up to advanced tactical behaviors and multi-agent coordination) and across a multitude of mission sets, platform types, and operational domains (e.g., air, sea, space). The team puts a strong emphasis on both fundamentals (e.g., aircraft kinematics/dynamics, trajectory design, optimization, information fusion, efficient algorithms, etc.) and software integration skillsets (e.g. structures, protocols, threading, interface management, etc.) to bring market-differentiating capabilities to customers that seamlessly operate within their integration contexts. This position is perfect for an individual who enjoys solving complex problems across a diverse set of programs and integration contexts. An ideal candidate is expected to address operational system needs through a multitude of advanced methodologies that blend traditional control system approaches with advanced optimization. Developed solutions are expected to be integrated into real-world platforms with near-term program impacts and rewards and so balancing theory with practice and rigorous implementation is paramount.

Requirements

BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field
Proficient in production-level C++ software development
7+ years' experience in one or more of the following: software sub-system scheduling and integration, behavior planning, task and resource allocation, motion planning, optimization, or flight controls
Experience with collaborative software development tools for version control, issue tracking, code reviews, and release management
Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams, set technical direction, and manage full project lifecycles from concept to deployment
Capacity to learn and grow individually, while mentoring junior team members effectively, building team cohesion and capacity
Desire to work in a highly collaborative, fast paced, enthusiastic, and mission-centric environment
Capacity to act as the technical owner for an entire software system, including stakeholder engagement, requirements definition, roadmap management, team co-ordination, design, implementation, sustainment, and evolution
Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

Nice To Haves

Experience across a breadth of technology readiness levels (TRLs) and demonstration of bridging concepts from research-grade to operationally ready
Experience with mission systems integration, and ideally, hands-on experience supporting integration events and/or flight demonstrations
Experience across a multitude of application areas, including but not limited to: Collaborative mission planning, behavior planning, synchronized teaming, Automated red force vs blue force tactics, Motion planning across a variety of vehicle classes, kinematic constraints, and team compositions, Weapons target assignment, Sensor target pairing, sensor-centric control laws, Collision avoidance, geofencing, and safety-monitoring
Experience in more than one operational effect (e.g., strike, air combat, surveillance, reconnaissance, etc.) and more than one associated domain (e.g., air, space, maritime, ground, etc.)
Experience with FOSS software that is commonly used in robotic systems (e.g., ROS, OMPL, optimization solvers, etc.)
Experience with simulation tools and environments (e.g., AFSIM, NGTS) for testing and validation
Familiarity with practical aspects of navigation and communications systems
Experience across the product delivery lifecycle, from emerging opportunity through system acceptance, deployment, and sustainment
Familiarity with systems engineering methodologies
Familiarity with high-assurance software development processes (e.g., DO-178C or equivalent MIL-STD's)

Responsibilities

Design tactical autonomy algorithms to enable unmanned aircraft to perform complex missions across air, land, and sea domains with minimal human supervision.
Develop high-performance software modules that incorporate planning, decision-making, and behavior execution strategies for dynamic and adversarial environments.
Implement and test behavior architectures that enable multi-agent coordination, target engagement, reconnaissance, and survivability in contested scenarios.
Work at the intersection of classical autonomy and machine learning, blending rule-based systems with learning-based methods such as reinforcement learning to achieve robust, adaptive behavior.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams including perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and flight test to ensure seamless integration of autonomy solutions on real-world platforms.
Deploy autonomy capabilities to real platforms and participate in field tests and flight demos, validating performance in operationally relevant conditions.
Analyze mission logs and performance data to diagnose failures, optimize behavior models, and inform iterative development.
Contribute to the autonomy roadmap by researching and prototyping new algorithms, identifying tactical capability gaps, and proposing novel solutions that advance Shield AI’s mission.
Support defense-focused programs and customer needs by adapting autonomy solutions to evolving mission sets, compliance requirements, and operational feedback.