The Autonomy Capabilities team at Shield AI has assembled a diverse team of experts in software, robotics, control systems, optimization, and data analysis to create software solutions that greatly evolve the capabilities of our customers. The team is responsible for developing autonomous behaviors within Shield AI’s industry-leading mission autonomy software stack and deploying them across a breadth of platforms, including the Anduril Fury, Northrup Grumman Talon, Shield AI V-Bat, and other first and third-party autonomous vehicles. We work in close coordination with specialist teams in software integration, hardware, and test engineering to solve some of the hardest problems facing our customers.
About the Job:
What You'll Do:
- Develop tactical autonomy software to enable unmanned platforms to perform complex missions across air, land, sea, and space domains with limited human supervision
- Implement and test behaviors supporting multi-agent coordination, target engagement, reconnaissance, and survivability in contested scenarios
- Contribute across the software development lifecycle, including requirements, design, implementation, verification, and validation, following established engineering best practices
- Collaborate with senior engineers to design and build scalable, maintainable software components that integrate with broader system architecture (e.g., sensor processing, state estimation, communications, and actuation)
- Support reuse and extensibility of autonomy behaviors by contributing to shared frameworks and codebases
- Work with internal product and program teams to deliver capabilities to vehicle platforms, helping ensure successful integration and iteration over time
- Collaborate with cross-functional and external teams to align on interfaces and system requirements
- Apply strong software engineering fundamentals to solve complex technical problems, while continuing to grow domain expertise in autonomy and robotics systems
- Travel up to 20% to support integration, testing, and collaboration with end-users and partner teams
Required Qualifications:
- BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field
- Proficient in production-level C++ software development
- 5+ years' experience in one or more of the following: software sub-system scheduling and integration, behavior planning, task and resource allocation, motion planning, optimization, or flight controls
- Experience with collaborative software development tools for version control, issue tracking, code reviews, release management
- Ability to contribute to the design, development, and integration of complex software systems as part of a multi-disciplinary team
- Demonstrated problem-solving skills and ability to learn new technologies in a fast-paced environment
- Willingness to collaborate closely with teammates and support team objectives
- Interest in growing technical skills and, over time, providing guidance to more junior engineers
- Desire to work in a highly collaborative, fast paced, and mission-driven environment
- Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience working with systems at one or more technology readiness levels (TRLs), including supporting the maturation of research concepts toward operational use
- Experience with mission systems integration, including participation in integration events, testing, or demonstrations
- Experience in one or more of the following areas:
- Collaborative mission planning, behavior planning, or coordinated teaming
- Motion planning across different vehicle types or constraints
- Sensor/target pairing, control strategies, or related autonomy functions
- Safety systems such as collision avoidance or geofencing
- Experience with robotic software ecosystems (e.g., ROS, OMPL, optimization tools)
- Experience with simulation tools for testing and validation
- Familiarity with navigation and communications systems
- Experience contributing to portions of the product development lifecycle
- Familiarity with systems engineering principles
- Familiarity with high-assurance software practices (e.g., DO-178C or similar standards)
Skills Required
- BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science, Aerospace, Electrical, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
- Proficient in production-level C++ software development
- 5+ years experience in software sub-system scheduling and integration, behavior planning, task and resource allocation, motion planning, optimization, or flight controls
- Experience with collaborative software development tools for version control, issue tracking, code reviews, release management
- Ability to contribute to design, development, and integration of complex software systems as part of a multi-disciplinary team
- Demonstrated problem-solving skills and ability to learn new technologies in a fast-paced environment
- Willingness to collaborate closely with teammates and support team objectives
- Interest in growing technical skills and, over time, providing guidance to more junior engineers
- Desire to work in a highly collaborative, fast paced, and mission-driven environment
- Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance
- Experience working with systems at one or more technology readiness levels (TRLs)
- Experience with mission systems integration, including integration events, testing, or demonstrations
- Experience in collaborative mission planning, behavior planning, or coordinated teaming
- Experience with motion planning across different vehicle types or constraints
- Experience with sensor/target pairing, control strategies, or related autonomy functions
- Experience with safety systems such as collision avoidance or geofencing
- Experience with robotic software ecosystems (e.g., ROS, OMPL, optimization tools)
- Experience with simulation tools for testing and validation
- Familiarity with navigation and communications systems
- Experience contributing to portions of the product development lifecycle and systems engineering principles
- Familiarity with high-assurance software practices (e.g., DO-178C or similar standards)
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.
