Be an Early Applicant
Our mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems.
The Role
Lead customer-facing development and integration of Hivemind autonomy software. Build AI/autonomy applications, deploy infrastructure at customer sites, provide training and technical support, debug integrations, collaborate with product and engineering, maintain documentation, and assist sales. Travel to customer sites (~30%).
Summary Generated by Built In
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and 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.
The Software Applications Engineer will provide technical expertise and support to customers during the implementation and use of Shield AI enterprise software products. This role involves working closely with customers to understand their requirements and ensuring successful product integration for AI & Autonomy development.
What you'll do
- Become an expert user of the Hivemind Enterprise Autonomy Software Development Kit.
- Develop AI & Autonomy applications using Hivemind for unmanned platforms across air/sea/land/space.
- Deploy Hivemind AI infrastructure at customer sites.
- Provide technical training to customers for their autonomy development efforts.
- Assist customers in integrating Hivemind autonomy to their vehicles/platforms.
- Help customers debug software/API integration issues.
- Collaborate with the product and engineering teams to address customer feedback and improve products.
- Develop and maintain technical documentation and training materials Assist the sales team in answering complex technical queries from customers.
- Travel to and stay at customer sites as required (~30% travel).
- Autonomous teaming drones.
- Teaming between helicopters and drones.
- Autonomy on Robodogs.
- AI on Fighter Jets… and more that we aren’t allowed to publicly share!
Examples of Projects You will Work On:
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
- 7+ years of experience of industry experience
- 3+ years of experience in an integration/applications engineering role
- 3+ years of experience working in a startup environment.
- Strong technical background in software engineering.
- Strong proficiency in writing modern C++ code.
- Intermediate proficiency in writing Python code.
- Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience in the defense aviation or robotics industry.
- Experience building and running a small enterprise software applications/solutions engineering team.
Our international teammates receive a comprehensive total rewards package aligned to your country office location. For full details on compensation and benefits, please consult your talent acquisition partner.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
- 7+ years of industry experience.
- 3+ years in an integration/applications engineering role.
- 3+ years working in a startup environment.
- Strong technical background in software engineering.
- Strong proficiency in writing modern C++ code.
- Intermediate proficiency in writing Python code.
- Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- Experience in the defense aviation or robotics industry.
- Experience building and running a small enterprise software applications/solutions engineering team.
What the Team is Saying
Dylan
Lead Engineer, Planning and Controls-Motion
Mo
Lead Engineer, Platform Automation
Willy
Technical Director
Michael
Engineering Manager - State Estimation
Vibhav
Senior Staff Engineer
Kirby
Mechanical Engineer
Ryan
CEO
Evan
Senior Machine Learning Engineer
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
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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.
Gallery
Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
Typical time on-site:
3 days a week
