We are looking for a Senior Synthetic Reality Developer to join our visual database production team for professional simulation. The successful candidate will be responsible for accurately recreating real-world infrastructure, airports, and environments, as well as ground, maritime, and airborne vehicles, through 3D modeling and the creation of realistic textures. This work contributes to the development of high- fidelity scenarios for professional training simulators. In addition to standard production tools, you will work with proprietary company software, processes, and workflows. The role therefore requires strong learning ability, attention to detail, commitment to quality, and adherence to established technical and visual standards. We are looking for professionals with strong spatial awareness, a technical mindset, and the ability to accurately reproduce real-world environments and assets while meeting project requirements and delivery deadlines.
Required Qualifications
- Minimum of 4 years of professional experience in 3D modeling and texturing.
- Demonstrated proficiency in Autodesk Maya for 3D modeling, geometry creation, and optimization, including Features and Moving Models.
- Strong proficiency in developing and optimizing UV coordinates, ensuring efficient use of texture space and appropriate pixel density.
- Demonstrated proficiency in Adobe Photoshop for creating and editing high-quality, realistic textures.
- Excellent spatial awareness and ability to interpret complex proportions, scales, and geometric relationships.
- Ability to accurately reproduce real-world assets and environments using photographic references and technical documentation.
- Ability to work within established technical standards and production requirements, ensuring consistency across deliverables.
- Strong commitment to quality, continuous improvement, and on-time project delivery.
Preferred Qualifications
- Airport infrastructure, including lighting systems, signage, and pavement markings.
- Aviation.
- Cartography.
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
- Computer-Aided Design (CAD).
- Visual database development for simulation.
- Orthophotography, satellite imagery, and technical documentation.
- Simulation, synthetic environments, and digital twins.
Skills Required
- Minimum 4 years of professional experience in 3D modeling and texturing.
- Proficiency in Autodesk Maya for 3D modeling, geometry creation, optimization, Features, and Moving Models.
- Strong proficiency developing and optimizing UV coordinates, texture space, and pixel density.
- Proficiency in Adobe Photoshop for creating and editing realistic textures.
- Excellent spatial awareness and ability to interpret proportions, scales, and geometric relationships.
- Ability to reproduce real-world assets and environments using photographic references and technical documentation.
- Ability to follow technical standards and production requirements consistently.
- Strong commitment to quality, continuous improvement, and on-time delivery.
- Experience with airport infrastructure, lighting systems, signage, and pavement markings.
- Knowledge of aviation.
- Knowledge of cartography.
- Experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
- Experience with Computer-Aided Design (CAD).
- Experience developing visual databases for simulation.
- Experience with orthophotography, satellite imagery, and technical documentation.
- Experience with simulation, synthetic environments, and digital twins.
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 Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
