We are seeking a Chief Engineer to lead all engineering efforts for V-BAT, an established Group 3 VTOL UAS program. This individual will be responsible for directing and sustaining a high-performing, multidisciplinary team that delivers flight software, autonomy, ground control systems, aircraft, and payloads for a vertical takeoff and landing autonomous aircraft that is currently deployed worldwide.
This is a foundational leadership role for an existing product line that is growing in system maturity and mission capability. The ideal candidate combines deep technical experience across complex aerospace and UAS systems (with the ability to dive deep across a broad spectrum of engineering disciplines), a background in innovative and disruptive companies, and a proven ability to build and scale organizations and collaborate across disciplines in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
What you'll do:
- Build and lead the engineering and software team for the Group 3 UAS program, spanning flight software, autonomy, flight controls/GNC, ground systems, flight systems, flight sciences, avionics, payloads, and propulsion.
- Define the engineering vision, technical strategy, and system architecture in alignment with the program roadmap, product line strategy, and long-term technology investments.
- Serve as the senior technical leader for engineering within the program, making architectural decisions, managing technical and program risk, and driving execution across subsystems and suppliers.
- Lead organizational planning, workforce strategy, and capability roadmap to support multiple concurrent development, test, and sustainment efforts.
- Drive cross-functional collaboration across engineering, flight test, operations, program management, supply chain, quality, and production to enable predictable, high-quality product delivery.
- Establish and continuously improve engineering standards, technical governance, configuration management, documentation practices, and development processes (including CI/CD, automated testing, and modern DevOps practices).
- Drive engineering rigor through disciplined technical reviews, root cause analysis, lessons learned, and continuous improvement while maintaining the execution speed required in a fast-paced development environment.
- Ensure compliance with applicable aerospace standards, certification or airworthiness expectations, regulatory requirements, and company engineering policies.
- Attract, hire, and retain top-tier talent across engineering disciplines, building scalable organizations capable of supporting current and future platforms.
- Foster a culture of technical excellence, continuous learning, accountability, and high ownership.
- Mentor and grow Directors, engineering managers, and technical leads to support scaling and program longevity.
- Report regularly on progress, risks, and technical decisions to senior leadership, clearly articulating tradeoffs and investment recommendations.
- Interface with external partners, customers, and government stakeholders as needed to represent the engineering roadmap, technical strategy, and program status.
- Support business development and capture activities by defining technical approaches, architectures, and execution plans for new opportunities.
Required qualifications:
- Typically requires a minimum of 15 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
- Strong technical background in one or more of: aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and avionics, propulsion, or closely related disciplines.
- Experience building and leading multidisciplinary engineering teams and organizations (including direct managers and technical leaders) across hardware, software, and systems.
- Strong leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to manage and inspire cross-functional teams; excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Proven track record of successfully shipping products, showcasing the ability to navigate development cycles, overcome obstacles, and deliver high-quality solutions to meet project deadlines and customer expectations in a fast-paced environment.
#LG
Skills Required
- Minimum 15 years related experience with a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
- Strong technical background in aerospace, mechanical, electrical/avionics, propulsion or closely related disciplines
- Experience building and leading multidisciplinary engineering teams across hardware, software, and systems
- Proven track record of shipping complex products and delivering to customer expectations
- Strong leadership, interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills
- Experience establishing CI/CD, automated testing, DevOps practices, and configuration management
- Experience ensuring compliance with aerospace standards, certification or airworthiness expectations
- Ability to interface with external partners, customers, and government stakeholders
- Ability to clear background checks (offers contingent on cleared background)
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
-
Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage includes medical, dental, vision, and mental-health support, with company materials describing excellent coverage. Feedback suggests these offerings are comprehensive and consistently highlighted across official and third-party benefit lists.
-
Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity is granted to all full-time hires, with RSU structures and tools like Carta Tax intended to improve understanding and tax timing. Feedback suggests this broad-based ownership approach is a notable component of total rewards.
-
Parental & Family Support — Benefits include paid parental leave, fertility support, childcare benefits, family medical leave, and onsite resources such as a Mother's Room. Feedback suggests the family-oriented offerings are more expansive than basic coverage.
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.
Gallery
%203.jpg)
Shield AI Teams
.jpg)
Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
