The Hivemind Foundations team is an agile group of engineers focused on building a state-of-the-art Autonomy Software Development Kit (SDK) that enables resilient autonomy and intelligence for a wide range of platforms in diverse environments. The Safety-Critical Software Team in Hivemind Foundations is responsible for developing safety augmentation capabilities against strict airworthiness development standards for Hivemind Foundations. This allows Hivemind Enterprise customers to develop and fly cutting-edge autonomy solutions with confidence, with a clear path to certification.
As a member of the Safety-Critical Software Team, you will work with a group of engineers to develop cutting-edge safety-critical, high-performance and robust software that serves as a safety monitor between the low-assurance mission autonomy system and the flight control system, bounding unsafe behavior and ensuring safe flight. You will work closely with talented engineers to architect and develop core systems, set standards for software engineering and mentor other engineers.
What you'll do:
- Drive architecture, development, integration and testing of an extensible, configurable Run-Time Assurance (RTA) module that ensures safe operation of autonomous systems in diverse, adversarial conditions.
- Work closely with other engineers in Foundations to design and integrate with the low-assurance mission-autonomy software and high-assurance middleware.
- Specialize, integrate and test the RTA capability on a diverse set of platforms in various conditions to ensure robust fail-safe behavior.
- Drive principled software development practices across Foundations including but not limited to code analysis, audit trail, principled review processes.
- Collaborate with the team to generate artifacts that enable certifiability of Foundations software, including but not limited to static & dynamic analysis reports, software documentation, architecture decision records (ADRs), interface control diagrams (ICDs), system models.
- Mentor and guide Foundations developers on practices of safe software development to enhance software quality and assurance.
Required qualifications:
- Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 9 years with a Master’s degree; or 7 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.
- Demonstrated excellence in designing and developing C++ based safety-critical software systems with Real-Time guarantees.
- Experience working as a mentor to other engineers in a role driving software best practices to enhance software quality.
- Experience integrating software on real-world physical systems and driving up performance and reliability.
- Deep expertise in C++ software architecture design patterns and their practical implementation.
- Strong knowledge of software assurance certifications such as DO-178C and MIL-HDBK-516.
- Strong Git and Linux development skills, along with modern software development practices (e.g., CI/CD, test-driven development).
- A track record of technical leadership, with the ability to set and maintain high standards, guide teams through complex technical challenges, and collaborate effectively.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience developing against strict C++ coding standards (e.g., MISRA C++, JSF AV C++)
- Hands-on experience with airworthiness certifications such as MIL-HDBK-516, DO-178C.
- Experience taking a solution through a certification process and achieving a certification.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree with at least 10 years of related experience, or Master's degree with at least 9 years, or PhD with at least 7 years, or equivalent work experience
- Experience designing and developing C++-based safety-critical software systems with real-time guarantees
- Experience mentoring engineers and driving software best practices
- Experience integrating software on real-world physical systems and improving performance and reliability
- Deep expertise in C++ software architecture design patterns and practical implementation
- Strong knowledge of software assurance certifications, including DO-178C and MIL-HDBK-516
- Strong Git and Linux development skills
- Experience with modern software development practices, including CI/CD and test-driven development
- Technical leadership experience guiding teams through complex technical challenges and maintaining high standards
- Experience developing under strict C++ coding standards such as MISRA C++ or JSF AV C++
- Hands-on experience with airworthiness certifications such as MIL-HDBK-516 and DO-178C
- Experience taking a solution through certification and achieving certification
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.
