This role sits at the intersection of systems engineering, software engineering, and autonomy. The Systems Engineer works across multidisciplinary engineering teams to translate mission and customer needs into system requirements, architectures, interfaces, and verification strategies while maintaining a deep technical understanding of the software and autonomy capabilities being delivered.
The ideal candidate has a strong background in software and autonomy, is comfortable developing and debugging software in C++ and Python, and has significant experience applying systems engineering principles within complex defense programs. They should be equally comfortable working at the system level and diving into technical implementation when required.
What you’ll do
- Apply systems engineering principles to the development and integration of autonomous systems for defense applications.
- Translate operational needs, mission objectives, and customer requirements into clear system, subsystem, software, and autonomy requirements.
- Develop and maintain system architectures, functional decompositions, interface definitions, Interface Control Documents, requirements traceability, and verification strategies.
- Work closely with autonomy, software, guidance, navigation and control, avionics, hardware, test, and platform engineering teams to ensure successful system integration.
- Define and manage interfaces between Hivemind Autonomy, vehicle systems, mission systems, sensors, communications, payloads, and external systems.
- Maintain a strong understanding of the underlying autonomy and software architecture, including how system level requirements translate into software behavior and implementation.
- Develop software, prototypes, analysis tools, test infrastructure, and engineering utilities using C++ and Python when required to solve integration and system level engineering problems.
- Use code, simulation, logs, telemetry, and other engineering data to investigate system behavior, diagnose failures, validate assumptions, and support technical decision making.
- Lead and support system integration activities across simulation, software in the loop, hardware in the loop, ground test, and flight test environments.
Required Qualifications
- BS or MS in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical discipline.
- 5+ years of experience developing, integrating, or delivering complex software intensive systems, preferably within aerospace, defense, robotics, or autonomous systems.
- Strong software engineering background with hands on experience developing and debugging software in C++ and Python.
- Experience with autonomous or robotic systems, including familiarity with areas such as perception, planning, estimation, guidance, navigation, controls, or mission autonomy.
- Strong understanding of systems engineering principles and their application to complex defense systems.
- Experience developing and managing system and subsystem requirements, including requirements decomposition, allocation, traceability, and verification.
- Experience developing system architectures, functional architectures, interface definitions, Interface Control Documents, and other system level engineering artifacts.
Skills Required
- BS or MS in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical discipline.
- 5+ years of experience developing, integrating, or delivering complex software-intensive systems.
- Experience in aerospace, defense, robotics, or autonomous systems.
- Hands-on software development and debugging experience in C++ and Python.
- Experience with autonomous or robotic systems, including perception, planning, estimation, guidance, navigation, controls, or mission autonomy.
- Strong understanding of systems engineering principles and their application to complex defense systems.
- Experience developing and managing system and subsystem requirements, including decomposition, allocation, traceability, and verification.
- Experience developing system architectures, functional architectures, interface definitions, Interface Control Documents, and other system-level engineering artifacts.
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as excellent, with dental/vision and mental‑health support, and ancillary protections like life and disability appearing in benefit summaries. The breadth and perceived affordability of coverage are highlighted as a standout component of the package.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is featured alongside enhanced maternity benefits, fertility and childcare support, and onsite resources such as a Mother’s Room. These elements are positioned as competitive and above the minimal baseline for the company’s stage.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity is granted to all full‑time hires, with RSUs, double‑trigger tax timing, and tools to model scenarios (e.g., through Carta Tax). Communications also reference a transition from options to RSUs, reinforcing access and maturity of ownership programs.
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.
