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Our mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems.
The Role
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With nine offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn,X, Instagram, and YouTube.
As a Principal Engineer of Software Safety at Shield AI, you will build and lead a small team of experts to shape the future of safe and reliable AI Pilots across a diverse set of platforms. You will partner with our customer Safety community and internal leaders across hardware, software, GNC and Systems engineering to pioneer the future architecture and framework of Autonomy. The right person for this role has knowledge of design, development, test, analysis, software maintenance/sustainment, and continuous improvement. If you are someone who has hands-on experience throughout the entire new product development life cycle from concept to customer delivery, loves to be on the cutting edge, work with many multi-disciplinary teams, then this role is for you.
WHAT YOU'LL DO:
- Evolve Shield AI’s Software and System Safety Approach
- Develop AI certification plan and support design of Run Time Assurance stack
- Present results of system safety analyses to external parties including FAA licensing individuals and DoD Safety community
- Clearly communicate technical risks to the executive leadership team
- Support Design & Development Engineers as a critical partner in Functional Hazard Analysis (FHA) and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) exercises at system level, and sub-system level for complex aircraft and ground systems
- Support the Design Requirements Process as a Subject Matter Expert to ensure teams adhere to Safety best practices and triage proactive hazard mitigations
- Support Systems Integration and Test with Qualification Test Plan Development for new products
- Support Development Milestone Reviews such as PDR, CDR, QDR representing SAI Safety
- Host regular corrective action reviews to ensure lessons learned are communicated with all stakeholders, and that all actions have been implemented in a timely manner
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Minimum of 12+ years Industry Experience as a Software Engineer, Flight Controls Engineer, or System Safety Engineer
- B.S. Degree in Engineering
- Aircraft, Spacecraft, or UAV Operations Experience
- Experience with MIL-STD-1629, MIL-STD-882, DO-178
- Experience working on Advanced Software Systems
- The ability to obtain an active security clearance (Secret, Top Secret, TS with SCI)
- This role requires an onsite presence at our HQ in San Diego, CA, Frisco, TX, or Crystal City, VA
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Experience with Functional Hazard Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, System Safety Analysis, Root Cause Analysis Methodologies, Corrective action management, Hazard Management, and Risk management
- Experience with US and International Customers
- M.S. Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or Systems Engineering
- Electrical Engineering Familiarity with schematics, best practices, and industry guidelines for Reliability
- Technical writing experience developing standards, specifications, user guides, and policies
- Requirements drafting experience for Software & Hardware
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.
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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.
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Shield AI and has not been reviewed or approved by Shield AI.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as excellent, spanning medical, dental, vision, mental‑health EAP, and optional pet insurance. Location‑based wellness perks such as onsite or discounted gym access reinforce the health offering.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity is positioned as a standard component of total rewards for full‑time employees, with stock/RSUs noted across roles. Access appears broad‑based rather than limited to select cohorts.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time‑off programs highlight paid parental leave alongside an accrual‑based PTO structure with a high carryover cap. Flexibility elements such as flexible hours complement the core leave offering.
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The Company
What We Do
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide.
Why Work With Us
What makes Shield AI special is our people. We unlock the power of autonomy, and in the face of overwhelming odds and challenges, we find ways to win and make a difference for our customers. We bring together software, AI, and aerospace engineering disciplines to deploy the most intelligent aviation capabilities in the world.
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