The Special Projects team at Shield AI is an elite force within the office of the CTO. It consists of a group of very senior (L5-L8) and highly experienced software engineering experts from diverse fields (aerospace, robotics, cloud infrastructure, game development, interactive media design, ...). The charter of this group is to steer technology development towards strategic alignment with the CTO's vision, through tactical insertion into teams and technologies across the organization. Individuals within this team make direct and at times forward-sprinting contributions to all three pillars of Hivemind, Shield AI's software ecosystem for developing and deploying resilient intelligent teaming for aircrafts. Hivemind consists of four products: EdgeOS (C++ based high-performance middleware for autonomy development), Pilot (autonomy for the edge built atop EdgeOS; a models-based, modular and open architecture C++ codebase), Forge (Shield AI's AI Factory for the design, development, and testing of Hivemind Edge systems; a service-oriented architecture leveraged through an SDK, CLI, and web portal; a Go, Python, Typescript codebase), Commander (Software and hardware to support rich human-in-the-loop and human-on-the-loop interactions with the Hivemind; a C++-based back-end for interaction with Pilot; and a web-application UI for mission planning, command and control by operators implemented in a Typescript/React codebase).
The Special Projects team is chartered to operate effectively within ambiguity. While this team does not own any software products, it tactically and strategically impacts the development of all foundational Hivemind products and leverages those technologies to rapidly deliver low-TRL solutions. This work happens shoulder-to-shoulder with the product teams in some cases, and in a forward-sprinting manner within the Special Projects team in other cases. The result is direct contribution to products in the former case, and development of reference implementations in the latter. The Special Projects team also functions as a pipeline for product and solution engineering teams across the organization. Individuals who enter the Special Projects team rapidly gain depth and breadth in their understanding of the Hivemind software ecosystem. This positions them well for leading technology development effort across the product and solution organization.
What you'll do:
- Design and build the user experience for agentic AI products across the office of the CTO: an enterprise knowledge assistant (Brain), an agent-driven engineering platform (Springboard), and enterprise AI/data applications.
- Prototype in code. Ship working React/TypeScript implementations, not mockups — then land them in production with the product teams.
- Design the core interaction patterns of agentic software: streaming responses, citations and provenance, multi-modal input, artifact sharing, and human-in-the-loop review and approval surfaces.
- Design interfaces for foundation-model based autonomy architectures and model lifecycle tooling: evaluation dashboards, trace inspection, observability, and verification surfaces.
- Conduct user research across engineers, operators, and executives; define personae and translate findings into design decisions.
- Investigate competing agentic and enterprise AI products; synthesize findings for engineering and product leadership.
- Establish reusable design patterns and a component vocabulary for AI applications across the organization.
- Drive adoption: instrument what you ship, watch real usage, and iterate daily.
Required qualifications:
- 12+ years designing and building production software interfaces, with end-to-end ownership from research through shipped product.
- Expert-level React/TypeScript; you write production-quality front-end code, not just prototypes.
- Portfolio of shipped tools or applications demonstrating strong interaction design and visual craft.
- Hands-on experience designing LLM-powered experiences: streaming, progressive rendering, loading states, context and conversation management.
- Deep knowledge of client and UI state management, the DOM, browser APIs, WebSockets, and Server-Sent Events.
- Experience running user research and usability testing, and acting on the results.
- Strong software hygiene: Git, code review, testing, CI/CD.
- Fluid intelligence that allows one to operate effectively in ambiguous conditions while finding opportunities to drive technical efforts and force multiply.
- Experience with Linux, Docker, and a major cloud platform (Azure, GCP, AWS).
- This role requires travel to a Shield AI location 1-3 times per quarter
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience designing developer tools, IDEs, or engineering workflow products.
- Data visualization experience (D3, WebGL, dashboards); geospatial a plus.
- Experience building or maintaining a design system.
- Experience designing debugging/inspection UIs for generative AI systems.
- Experience with Electron (or similar).
- Experience with user experience design for video games or interactive media.
- Experience designing for "low code" or "no code" systems.
- Comfort reading C++ and/or Python and/or Go.
Skills Required
- 12+ years designing and building production software interfaces with end-to-end ownership
- Expert-level React and TypeScript; production-quality front-end code
- Portfolio of shipped tools or applications demonstrating interaction design and visual craft
- Hands-on experience designing LLM-powered experiences including streaming and conversation management
- Deep knowledge of client/UI state management, the DOM, browser APIs, WebSockets, and Server-Sent Events
- Experience running user research and usability testing and acting on results
- Strong software hygiene: Git, code review, testing, CI/CD
- Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous conditions and drive technical efforts
- Experience with Linux, Docker, and a major cloud platform (Azure, GCP, or AWS)
- Experience designing developer tools, IDEs, or engineering workflow products
- Data visualization experience (D3, WebGL, dashboards); geospatial a plus
- Experience building or maintaining a design system
- Experience designing debugging/inspection UIs for generative AI systems
- Experience with Electron (or similar)
- Experience with user experience design for video games or interactive media
- Experience designing for low-code or no-code systems
- Comfort reading C++, Python, and/or Go
- Travel to a Shield AI location 1-3 times per quarter
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials describe excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage alongside a mental‑health EAP. Site perks such as an onsite gym in DC and a gym discount in San Diego support a health‑focused offering.
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Retirement Support — Careers materials highlight a 401(k) with company match as part of the standard package. A Total Rewards overview emphasizes retirement features within a broader, transparent compensation view.
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Career-Linked Recognition & Rewards — Compensation for in‑demand technical and senior go‑to‑market roles is described as competitive, with visible engineering ranges and top‑end packages. This points to meaningful upside tied to role, level, and scarce skills.
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 Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
