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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 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. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Job Description:
As a Senior Mission Systems Engineer, you will lead 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 system architecture to real-time troubleshooting.
Ideal candidates have hands-on experience taking complex 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 be an extreme owner—leading the specification, design, integration, flight 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, owning the full product lifecycle of payload systems from concept through to deployment. Help us save lives as we strive to deliver the most highly reliable aerospace hardware in the industry.
What you'll do:
- Architect, design, integrate, and validate avionics and mission sensors and payloads for V-BAT —from concept through production & deployment
- Work directly with operators, mission SMEs, and internal stakeholders to understand user needs and prioritize system features and capabilities.
- 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.
- Lead cross functional development: mechanical & electrical design, firmware/embedded interfaces, data paths, networking, and onboard software integration.
- Debug and root-cause complex hardware, software, and integration failures throughout development and flight operations.
- Lead 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.
- Drive continuous design improvement to increase reliability, robustness, and mission performance.
Required qualifications:
- B.S. in Electrical Engineering or related STEM field.
- 3+ 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 history of showing ownership of project outcomes and delivering exceptional results.
- 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.
- Demonstrated experience taking a hardware + software product or feature from concept (0) to deployed system (1).
#LI-SM1
#LC
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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