The Autonomous Pilot Integration team for expeditionary platforms builds autonomy solutions for V-BAT — an unmanned aircraft operating in expeditionary environments for ISR, target acquisition, communications, and multi-agent missions. The team also builds autonomy for X-BAT, a new platform under development by the aircraft team; for X-BAT, the team builds on top of the existing mission autonomy solution from the Strategic Systems (ACP) portfolio and works closely with the aircraft team on the flight-autonomy interface. We combine capabilities from the Autonomy Capabilities team (motion planning, tactics), the Perception team (e.g., ViDAR, ATR), and the HivemindSDK to develop the autonomy software that runs on these platforms, then integrate, validate, and field it on the real hardware — for U.S. and international defense customers.
In this role, you'll own the technical direction for the Expeditionary portfolio, driving the evolution of autonomy architecture across V-BAT and X-BAT while ensuring scalable, mission-ready solutions that support current operators and future platforms. You'll define long-term technical strategy, solve the organization's most complex integration challenges, and influence the direction of autonomy software spanning mission behaviors, platform interfaces, payload integration, executive autonomy, and multi-agent operations.
You'll partner closely with the Aircraft team, Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, GCS, Strategic Systems (ACP), engineering leadership, customer/program offices, and operational users to ensure Expeditionary autonomy continues to evolve while remaining reliable in operational environments.
What You'll Do:
Technical Strategy & Portfolio Leadership – Define and drive the long-term technical direction for Expeditionary autonomy across V-BAT, X-BAT, and future platforms.
Develop & Field Autonomy – Guide development of mission autonomy, payload integration, flight-autonomy interfaces, executive autonomy, and multi-agent capabilities while ensuring successful operational deployment.
Aircraft Team Partnership – Establish long-term technical strategy with the Aircraft team for platform integration, interface evolution, and mission readiness.
Cross-Engineering Leadership – Influence architecture across the Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, GCS, Strategic Systems (ACP), Aircraft, and customer organizations.
Subject Matter Expertise – Serve as the organization's technical expert for complex autonomy integration challenges spanning software, hardware, and operations.
Design & Engineering Excellence – Lead architecture reviews, engineering standards, interface definitions, and organization-wide technical improvements.
Mentorship & Organizational Growth – Mentor senior engineers, develop technical leaders, contribute to leveling frameworks, and partner on senior hiring.
Mission Readiness & Operational Excellence – Guide customer releases, deployment strategy, and mission validation while supporting critical operational events.
Continuous Improvement – Drive long-term improvements to engineering processes, integration workflows, testing infrastructure, and developer experience.
C2 Interoperability & Open Systems – Define technical strategy for command-and-control interoperability and adoption of open-systems standards.
Hiring & Developing Technical Talent – Define the technical hiring bar for senior engineering roles, partner with engineering managers on long-term staffing strategy, and help grow the organization's technical capabilities.
Travel Requirement – Members of this team typically travel around 10–20% of the year to different office locations, customer sites, operator training events, flight tests, and integration exercises.
Required Qualifications:
BS/MS in a relevant engineering discipline or equivalent experience.
10+ years of relevant experience.
Expert-level C++ and Linux systems development experience.
Demonstrated experience defining technical strategy across multiple engineering teams or programs.
Proven track record influencing architecture and solving highly complex systems integration challenges.
Experience mentoring senior engineers and driving engineering excellence.
Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.
Preferred Qualifications:
Extensive experience with Group 3 UAS, VTOL platforms, or comparable autonomous systems.
Experience defining flight-autonomy interfaces or custom autopilot integrations.
Experience deploying autonomy to operational military systems.
Experience with international defense customers.
Experience with STANAG 4586, UCI, OMS, and open-systems architectures.
Experience shaping engineering practices across an organization.
Skills Required
- BS/MS in a relevant engineering discipline or equivalent experience.
- 10+ years of relevant experience.
- Expert-level C++ development experience.
- Expert-level Linux systems development experience.
- Demonstrated experience defining technical strategy across multiple engineering teams or programs.
- Proven track record influencing architecture and solving highly complex systems integration challenges.
- Experience mentoring senior engineers and driving engineering excellence.
- Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.
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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Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
