As a V-BAT Network Engineer, you will be instrumental in designing, implementing, and optimizing the network infrastructure for our Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) which is deployed in some of the most challenging environments worldwide. V-BAT is designed to operate in contested, GNSS-denied airspace, and our network must maintain highly reliable, secure, and efficient communication between all air and ground devices.
What you'll do:
- Design and implement network architectures for V-BAT, ensuring high performance, reliability, and security.
- Drive the integration of V-BAT with multiple external networks, such as ground-based radio and satellites.
- Develop and maintain communication protocols and network management systems for UAS operations.
- Optimize network performance for various mission profiles, including low bandwidth, high latency, and high packet loss missions.
- Develop software which implements, configures, and provisions networking equipment.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including software engineers, hardware engineers, and operators to ensure comprehensive network solutions.
- Conduct testing and validation of network systems in lab and field environments.
- Stay current with advancements in network technologies and apply best practices to our systems.
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of relevant experience, or Master’s with 4+ years, or PhD with 2+ years.
- Proven experience in designing, implementing, and deploying network systems which support real time applications.
- Strong understanding of the networking layers in the OSI model, especially layers 1-4.
- Knowledge of and experience with routing and switching concepts and protocols, such as DNS, DHCP, GRE, IPSEC, QoS, VLANs, BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, VPNs, QUIC.
- Proficiency in network simulation and analysis tools.
- Familiarity with network programming and tools (e.g. Wireshark, TCPDump).
- Experience with Linux, scripting, command line tools, etc.
- Experience developing C, C++, and/or Python software.
- Excellent communication skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and design solutions which delight end users.
- Proven track record of successfully shipping products, showcasing the ability to navigate through development cycles, overcome obstacles, and deliver high-quality solutions to meet project deadlines and exceed expectations in a fast-paced environment.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience developing networks for aerospace or autonomous systems.
- Expertise on network security, firewalls, public key infrastructure and industry best practices.
- Experience customizing, deploying, and maintaining Linux distributions created with Yocto on various hardware platforms.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree with 5+ years experience, Master's with 4+ years, or PhD with 2+ years
- Proven experience designing, implementing, and deploying network systems supporting real-time applications
- Strong understanding of OSI layers 1-4
- Knowledge and experience with routing and switching protocols: DNS, DHCP, GRE, IPSEC, QoS, VLANs, BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, VPNs, QUIC
- Proficiency with network simulation and analysis tools
- Familiarity with network programming and packet tools (Wireshark, TCPDump)
- Experience with Linux, scripting, and command line tools
- Experience developing software in C, C++, and/or Python
- Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams
- Proven track record of shipping products through development cycles
- Experience developing networks for aerospace or autonomous systems
- Expertise in network security, firewalls, and public key infrastructure
- Experience customizing and deploying Linux distributions built with Yocto on hardware platforms
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
