What you'll do:
- Develop, build, and maintain HIL test infrastructure for mission autonomy and vision systems, including electrical integration, mechanical fixtures, and sensor interfaces, working with engineers and lab technicians.
- Create and execute integration, regression, and system test plans for Hivemind mission autonomy software in HIL, SIL, and Vehicle-in-the-Loop (VIL) environments, including simulated flight and mission scenarios.
- Build Python tools and automated test utilities for test execution, data collection, and analysis across hardware and simulation environments.
- Develop and execute HIL tests for vision systems to validate imaging, onboard processing, detection capabilities, and hardware/software interfaces throughout development and software releases.
- Identify, reproduce, and diagnose failures using test data, system logs; collaborate with development teams to resolve issues and verify fixes.
- Improve test fixtures, automation, and test coverage through rapid prototyping and repeatable validation methods; document test configurations, procedures, and results.
- Install, integrate, and perform functional checkout of vision systems, including camera pods, gimbals, imaging sensors, onboard processing hardware, and supporting electronics on test assets and aircraft.
- Load, configure, and validate software and firmware releases; maintain accurate hardware, software, and asset records so lab and field configurations remain reproducible.
- Troubleshoot sensor, compute, power, network, and mechanical interfaces using wiring diagrams, pinouts, logs, and test equipment; perform connector inspections, continuity checks, and basic wiring work under established procedures.
- Support ground and flight tests, customer demonstrations, and field evaluations through equipment setup, system configuration, data collection, and post-test troubleshooting; communicate findings to engineering teams and mission partners.
Required qualifications:
- Typically requires a minimum of 2 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or a related discipline; or a Master's degree without experience; or equivalent practical experience.
- Hands-on experience integrating and testing hardware and software in robotics, small UAS, avionics, vision systems, or related engineering projects.
- Proficiency in Python for test automation, system utilities, or data analysis.
- Practical electrical and mechanical skills, including interpreting wiring diagrams and pinouts and safely using a digital multimeter.
- Familiarity with Linux, software installation and configuration, and basic networking concepts.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and debugging skills, with attention to configuration accuracy and clear technical documentation.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills across software, hardware, and mechanical engineering teams, with ownership of assigned work and a willingness to learn new technologies.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a SECRET clearance.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience with HIL, SIL, or VIL testing, simulation environments, or validation of autonomous systems.
- Experience with electro-optical or infrared imaging systems, cameras, gimbals, sensor pods, or onboard image processing and detection systems.
- Familiarity with C++, Git, automated regression testing, or development pipelines (CI/CD).
- Experience with Ethernet, serial communications, CAN, or sensor and compute interfaces.
- Exposure to CAD, fixture design, rapid prototyping, or hands-on robotics and aircraft projects.
- Experience with oscilloscopes, bench power supplies, cable assembly, connector inspection, or harness troubleshooting.
- Experience supporting aircraft integration, field demonstrations, customer deployments, or ground and flight test campaigns.
Skills Required
- Minimum of 2 years of related experience with a bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, or a related discipline; master's degree without experience; or equivalent practical experience.
- Hands-on experience integrating and testing hardware and software in robotics, small UAS, avionics, vision systems, or related engineering projects.
- Proficiency in Python for test automation, system utilities, or data analysis.
- Practical electrical and mechanical skills, including interpreting wiring diagrams and pinouts and safely using a digital multimeter.
- Familiarity with Linux, software installation and configuration, and basic networking concepts.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and debugging skills, with attention to configuration accuracy and clear technical documentation.
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills across software, hardware, and mechanical engineering teams.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance.
- Experience with HIL, SIL, or VIL testing, simulation environments, or validation of autonomous systems.
- Experience with electro-optical or infrared imaging systems, cameras, gimbals, sensor pods, or onboard image processing and detection systems.
- Familiarity with C++, Git, automated regression testing, or CI/CD pipelines.
- Experience with Ethernet, serial communications, CAN, or sensor and compute interfaces.
- Exposure to CAD, fixture design, rapid prototyping, or hands-on robotics and aircraft projects.
- Experience with oscilloscopes, bench power supplies, cable assembly, connector inspection, or harness troubleshooting.
- Experience supporting aircraft integration, field demonstrations, customer deployments, or ground and flight test campaigns.
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials highlight comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with mental-health support and an EAP. Third-party benefits summaries also portray health coverage as a strong component of the package.
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Retirement Support — Offerings include a 401(k) with employer matching, cited on the careers page and independent benefits directories. Multiple sources indicate a match exists, though exact formulas have varied over time and warrant confirmation.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Company communications describe equity for all full-time hires and stock benefits as part of total rewards. Independent listings also note company equity/RSUs as a standard element.
Shield AI Insights
What We Do
At Shield AI, you won't wait years to see your work reach the field. You'll build hardware and software that operates in the real world right now, in the hands of the people who depend on it. Hivemind, our AI pilot, has been flying since 2018. It has flown more than 30 platforms, including an F-16, and it now sits under a U.S. Air Force production contract for Collaborative Combat Aircraft. When you write code or shape a system here, you contribute to technology with a proven flight record and a clear production future. V-BAT flies intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions with an operational record that stretches from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific. It delivers eyes where they matter most, in the most demanding conditions on earth. The teams behind it watch their work get tested where the stakes are real. X-BAT takes its first flight this year. It's an AI-piloted fighter that needs no runway, built to operate where traditional aircraft can't. Join now and you help shape a program at its earliest, most formative stage. That's the kind of ground-floor work that defines a career. Do the most impactful work of your life, on problems that matter. Autonomy at this level asks a lot of you. You'll take on problems in perception, planning, and control that few teams anywhere are equipped to solve. You'll work across disciplines, from aerospace and robotics to machine learning and systems engineering, alongside people who hold themselves to an exacting standard and expect the same from you. Our mission is clear: protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. That purpose runs through every decision, every design review, and every deployment. It's why the work here carries a weight you can feel. Ready to join our mission? Explore our open roles and find where you fit.
Why Work With Us
Founded in 2015 by a former Navy SEAL, Shield AI builds AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft. Veterans aren't an afterthought here, they're at every level. It's why the work carries weight: AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft flying real missions, from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific, protecting service members and civilians.
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Shield AI Teams
Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
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