This role sits within the Edge Systems team, where software meets hardware. You will contribute to production software spanning Linux edge computing, imaging, sensor integration, diagnostics, deployment, and mission applications. Your work will run on real systems, not only in simulations or laboratory prototypes.
You will develop modern C++ software for Linux-based edge compute platforms, including NVIDIA Jetson-class and ARM64 systems. You will integrate sensors, diagnose system behaviour, improve performance, and deliver reliable software as part of a multidisciplinary team, with scope and autonomy matched to your experience.
This is an application and systems software role focused on Linux-based edge computing. It is not primarily a bare-metal firmware or microcontroller-development role.
Linux is the primary deployment environment, but some supporting tools may run on or interface with Windows-based systems, making cross-platform experience valuable.
We welcome recent graduates and engineers with a few years of relevant experience. You do not need to match every technology below. We value sound fundamentals, practical curiosity, and evidence that you enjoy solving software-and-hardware problems.
What you'll do:
Develop, test, debug, and maintain C++ software for edge systems, imaging systems, mission applications, diagnostics, and developer tools.
Build applications for NVIDIA Jetson, and other edge compute platforms connected to cameras, sensors, and mission systems.
Contribute to calibration, synchronisation, data capture, observability, inspection, and configuration tools for complex sensor systems.
Investigate issues across application software, Linux, networking, hardware interfaces, timing, deployment, and system integration, collaborating across disciplines when problems cross domain boundaries.
Write clear, maintainable code and participate in code reviews, automated testing, documentation, and team design discussions.
Collaborate with systems, hardware, AI, autonomy, product, and test engineers to deliver integrated capability.
Own well-defined components and technical problems, taking on broader and more complex work as your skills and domain knowledge grow.
Required qualifications:
A degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical experience.
A solid foundation in C++, demonstrated through university work, internships, personal or open-source projects, or industry experience.
Practical experience developing, building, or debugging software on Linux or Windows, with an interest in working primarily on Linux-based edge systems.
Understanding of core software-engineering concepts such as memory and resource management, data structures, interfaces, testing, and version control.
Some experience building software that interacts with hardware, sensors, networks, robotics, imaging systems, or other physical devices.
A methodical approach to debugging and a willingness to investigate problems beyond a single function or source file.
The ability to communicate clearly, seek feedback, and collaborate effectively with engineers from different disciplines.
Curiosity, initiative, and a desire to grow into broader technical ownership over time.
Clearance & Export Control Requirements:
- Eligibility to obtain an Australian NV1 (Secret) clearance.
- Ability to access and handle ITAR‑controlled and Australian export‑controlled technical data.
Skills Required
- At least 7 years of systems engineering or related experience with a Bachelor's degree, 5 years with a Master's degree, 2 years with a PhD, or equivalent practical experience
- Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM field such as Systems, Software, Aerospace, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering
- Experience with systems engineering practices, including writing, structuring, and verifying requirements
- Experience with model-based systems engineering and system-modeling workflows
- Experience working on cross-functional technical teams
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Highly organized, methodical, and comfortable managing detailed technical information
- Ability to read, interpret, and apply engineering drawings, assembly diagrams, parts lists, wiring diagrams, and schematics
- Demonstrated integrity, high standards, teamwork, and professionalism
- Expertise with MBSE, Cameo Systems Modeler, Cameo APIs, and Velocity Template Language
- Expertise in requirements and design decomposition for complex hardware and software systems
- Experience with autonomy, aircraft systems, perception, unmanned vehicles, or robotic platforms
- Eligibility to obtain an Australian NV1 Secret clearance
- Ability to access and handle ITAR-controlled and Australian export-controlled technical data
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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Shield AI Teams
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Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
