Shield AI’s mission is to protect the lives of service members and civilians with intelligent systems.
As a Mission Systems Engineer II, you will support the hands-on integration of avionics, sensors, and mission payloads onto the V-BAT and our next-generation aircraft. We’re looking for engineers with a strong mix of hardware and software experience—people who can move fluidly from hardware and software integration and system bring-up to real-time troubleshooting.
Ideal candidates have hands-on experience taking hardware–software systems from 0→1, understanding what truly matters to end users, and delivering reliable capabilities into real-world field use.
In this role, you will contribute to the specification, integration, testing, and validation of mission and avionics systems that expand the capabilities of our aircraft. You’ll work closely with electrical, mechanical, software, and flight test teams in both the lab and the field, supporting the development lifecycle of payload systems from concept through deployment.
Help us save lives as we strive to deliver the most highly reliable aerospace hardware in the industry.
What you'll do:
- Support the design, integration, and validation of avionics and mission sensors and payloads for V-BAT —from concept through production & deployment
- Collaborate with operators, mission SMEs, and internal stakeholders to understand user needs and prioritize system features and capabilities.
- Support and drive 0→1 development: take loosely defined mission problems, propose solutions, prototype quickly, iterate with flight test data, and mature systems into production-ready capabilities.
- Work with cross functional development: mechanical & electrical design, firmware/embedded interfaces, data paths, networking, and onboard software integration.
- Assist in debugging and root-cause complex hardware, software, and integration failures throughout development and flight operations.
- Conduct hands-on bring-up, lab testing, HIL testing, and flight test preparation.
- Support flight operations with real-time troubleshooting, anomaly resolution, and post-mission data analysis.
- Use Python, MATLAB, or similar tools to analyze logs, automate tests, and drive informed design decisions.
- Collaborate with Mechanical, Electrical, Software, Flight Test, and Manufacturing to deliver reliable and maintainable avionics systems.
- Contribute to continuous design improvement to increase reliability, robustness, and mission performance.
Required qualifications:
- B.S. in Electrical Engineering or related STEM field.
- 2-5 years engineering experience with electrical system design, integration, testing, debug, and repair
- Hands-on experience with test equipment, schematics, harness/wiring diagrams, and HW/SW debugging.
- Experience working on multidisciplinary hardware development projects, which can be from an internship, job, club, team, personal project, etc…
- Demonstrated ability to take ownership of tasks and deliver reliable results within a multidisciplinary engineering team. Record of working hard, being a trustworthy teammate, holding yourself and others to high standards, and being kind to others.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience integrating avionics, sensors, radios, mission payloads, or flight computing systems.
- Experience with flight test, field testing, or hardware-in-the-loop development.
- Experience with Python or any scripting language.
- Active Secret Security Clearance (or ability to obtain one if needed.
- Demonstrated adaptability, agility, and the ability to innovate under pressure to meet dynamic project demands and drive successful outcomes.
- Experience contributing to the development of a hardware + software system from concept through testing or deployment.
Skills Required
- Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering or a related STEM field
- 2-5 years of engineering experience in electrical system design, integration, testing, debugging, and repair
- Hands-on experience with test equipment, schematics, harness and wiring diagrams, and hardware/software debugging
- Experience working on multidisciplinary hardware development projects through an internship, job, club, team, or personal project
- Ability to take ownership of tasks and deliver reliable results within a multidisciplinary engineering team
- Experience integrating avionics, sensors, radios, mission payloads, or flight computing systems
- Experience with flight testing, field testing, or hardware-in-the-loop development
- Experience with Python or another scripting language
- Active Secret security clearance or ability to obtain one
- Experience developing a hardware and software system from concept through testing or deployment
What the Team is Saying
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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Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
