Senior Staff Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration – Jobs

Job Title

Autonomous Pilot Integration Team Lead

Founded in 2015, 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 and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI's technology actively supports operations worldwide.

The Autonomous Pilot Integration team for launched effects builds autonomy solutions for small, often air- or ground-launched platforms that operate in multi-agent fleets and frequently in disconnected or air-gapped environments. We combine capabilities from the Autonomy Capabilities team (motion planning, tactics), the Perception team (e.g., track fusion), and the HivemindSDK to develop the autonomy software that runs on launched effects platforms, then integrate, validate, and field it on the real hardware-for U.S. and international defense customers.

Our engineers write new autonomy code-such as 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. In this role, you'll define the technical direction for the Launched Effects portfolio, driving the evolution of autonomy architecture across multiple programs while ensuring scalable, mission-ready solutions for fleet-scale operations. You'll solve the organization's most complex integration challenges, influence long-term technical strategy, and partner with engineering leadership, the Autonomy Capabilities and Perception teams, autopilot vendors, C2 providers, and customer stakeholders to deliver autonomy capabilities that perform reliably in operational environments.

• Technical Strategy & Portfolio Leadership
• Develop & Field Autonomy
• Collaboration Across Teams & Partners
• Design & Documentation
• Mentorship & Organizational Growth
• Pre-deployment Preparation
• On-site Test & Mission Support
• Hardware/Software Debugging
• Mission Data & Debrief Support
• Continuous Improvement
• C2 Interoperability & Standards
• Hiring & Developing Technical Talent
• Travel Requirement

• BS/MS in a relevant engineering discipline or equivalent practical experience.
• Typically requires 10+ years of relevant experience.
• Expert-level C++ and Linux systems development experience.
• Demonstrated experience defining technical strategy across multiple engineering teams or programs.
• Proven track record influencing architecture and solving highly complex autonomy integration challenges.
• Experience mentoring senior engineers and driving engineering excellence across an organization.
• Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.
• Extensive experience with launched effects, autonomous systems, or distributed robotic platforms.
• Experience defining autopilot integration strategies and multi-agent autonomy architectures.
• Experience leading fleet-scale or disconnected operational deployments.
• Experience with military operational testing and international defense customers.
• Experience with UCI, OMS, MOSA, WOSA, TAK/CoT, or similar open architectures.
• Experience shaping engineering practices across multiple teams or organizations.

### Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment) Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits.

Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information. ### Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

group :