Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration; R5208

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture‑backed defense‑tech company whose mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software and V‑BAT and X‑BAT aircraft, and its technology actively supports operations worldwide across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia‑Pacific.

The Autonomous Pilot Integration team builds autonomy solutions for a wide range of CONOPs and mission sets by combining capabilities from the Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, and Hivemind SDK teams. In this role you will write new autonomy code—mission behaviors, platform‑specific control, multi‑agent coordination, contingencies, and executive autonomy—and own it end‑to‑end from software‑in‑the‑loop to hardware‑in‑the‑loop to vehicle‑in‑the‑loop to live test exercise.

You’ll partner closely with the Autonomy Capabilities and Perception teams, feature crews, and external platform integrators. It is a hands‑on role for engineers who want to see their code operate on the real world—flying, sailing, orbiting, or downrange—and want to be there when it does.

At this level you’ll also serve as a technical leader within the team—leading a small feature crew or sub‑program through design, integration, and delivery, mentoring mid‑level engineers, and representing the team directly to capability teams and external partners.

• Develop & Field Autonomy
  —Develop and integrate autonomy software solutions onto unmanned platforms (air, maritime, space, or effects/expendables), including payload computer bring‑up, container‑based deployment, and configuration across onboard compute, sensors, and command‑and‑control interfaces, and lead a small team through the design, development, and delivery of a major capability or sub‑program.
• Technical Leadership
  —Lead a small feature crew or sub‑program; set technical direction, break down work, unblock the team, and report progress to leadership and stakeholders.
• Collaboration Across Teams
  —Act as a primary technical interface with the Autonomy Capabilities team, the Perception team, feature crews, and external partners; author and negotiate ICDs and interface contracts rather than just consume them.
• Mentorship & Growth
  —Mentor mid‑level engineers on the team; partner with managers on onboarding, leveling, and growth planning; formally onboard senior new hires.
• Design & Documentation
  —Drive design reviews, ICDs, and post‑mortems for your area; push the team toward higher rigor and close process gaps that span teams.
• Pre‑deployment Preparation
  —Own the build, configuration, and validation process for mission‑ready systems; coordinate hardware/software compatibility, mission readiness, and release cadence with capability and feature teams.
• On‑site Test & Mission Support
  —Travel to test sites and support live mission operations (flight tests, range exercises, on‑water trials, integration events), including safety checks, system bring‑up, and troubleshooting under time‑critical constraints.
• Hardware/Software Debugging
  —Diagnose and resolve integration issues across complex autonomy stacks, payload computers, and embedded systems in lab and field environments, including memory, CPU, and timing profiling under operationally representative loads.
• Mission Data & Debrief Support
  —Capture mission and test data, reproduce issues in simulation, and partner with autonomy capability owners to drive fixes back into the next build.
• Continuous Improvement
  —Build tools and processes to improve integration timelines, test/mission reliability, and team efficiency across deployment cycles.
• C2 Interoperability & Standards
  —Own the interface contracts with C2 providers and drive standards compliance for your area, including implementation and validation against command‑and‑control standards.
• Hiring
  —Interview candidates, help define the skills bar for open roles in your area, and onboard new engineers into your sub‑program.
• Travel Requirement
  —Members of this team typically travel around 10‑20% of the year to different office locations, customer sites, and integration/test events.

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering,…