Sr. Engineering Manager, Task Planning (R2424)

Introduction to Shield AI

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company whose mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. In pursuit of this mission, Shield AI is building the world’s best AI pilot. Its AI pilot, Hivemind, has flown a fighter jet (F-16), a vertical takeoff and landing drone (V-BAT), and a quadcopter (Nova). The company has offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington DC and abroad. Shield AI’s products and people are currently in the field actively supporting operations with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. allies. 

The Planning and Controls (PAC) team is an agile group of engineers focused on Researching and developing state-of-the-art algorithms that drive intelligent and confidence-inspiring flight behaviors while accounting for an uncertain and dynamic world.

As a Senior Software Engineering Manager in PAC, you will lead a team at the intersection of artificial intelligence, task & motion planning, and controls. You will work closely with talented engineers to architect core systems, set standards for software engineering, drive strategic technical improvements, and mentor other engineers.

What you'll do:

• Serve as the functional team lead for the Mission West team
• Research, design, and implement state of the art teaming algorithms for real time autonomous systems
• Develop core systems that must be portable and scalable across different UAS
• platforms and compute architectures
• Work with our engineers, program, and product managers to define a technical roadmap for future autonomy solutions.
• Work with our Hivemind Design team to design and build infrastructure for the PAC team that both supports local development and scales into the cloud
• Work with soft or hard real-time operating systems
• Work with and deploy our AI stack to edge devices
• Work in collaboration with our DevOps teams to architect and maintain our cloud infrastructure, working with containerization technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes; assist with cross-platform builds and test orchestration, working with build tools (e.g. CMake, Bazel, etc.) and compiler tool chains (e.g. gcc, llvm, etc.)
• Develop and grow your teammates through mentorship and training
• Identify and bridge process gaps within your team

Projects you might work on:

• Design and implement a Multi Agent Executive Manager for heterogeneous teams
• Port PAC libraries to EdgeOS, a Shield AI Middleware framework, that enables portability of PAC libraries to multiple platforms and compute architectures
• Design and implement an analysis and simulation framework that: enables testing of various components in isolation or in a fully integrated manner; supports parameter sweeps; supports hardware-in-the-loop

Required qualifications:

• 8+ years of experience in Software Engineering, or equivalent engineering roles
• 4+ years of people leadership experience with teams of 4 or more people
• Have shipped production code for at least 1 commercial product
• BS in computer science or related engineering field
• Proficient with C++ 11 or newer in a production environment
• Experience in a collaborative development environment, focused on continuous integration/delivery & test-driven development
• Strong knowledge of modern software engineering best practices
• Demonstrated record of working hard, strong communication skills, being a trustworthy teammate, and being kind to others
• Strong organizational skills

#LI-AC1

#LE

Total package details for U.S. based positions:

- Regular employee positions: Salary within range listed above + Bonus + Benefits + Equity

- Temporary employee positions: Hourly within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days

of employment)

- Interns/Military Fellows/Part-time not eligible for bonus, benefits or equity

Total package details for International based positions (where applicable):

- International premium, hardship differential, cost of living differential, living quarters allowance, foreign service transfer

allowance, equity, international benefits, visa assistance, and relocation assistance.

Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check.

Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.