Help build the intelligence that enables autonomous systems to navigate the world with confidence. In this role, you’ll develop cutting-edge estimation and navigation technology, transforming advanced algorithms into high-performance software that powers resilient autonomy in complex, real-world environments.
What you'll do:
- Research and develop state-of-the-art state estimation and navigation algorithms to enable resilient autonomy in challenging GPS-denied environments.
- Design and deploy production-grade C++ software for embedded robotic systems operating in dynamic, real-world environments.
- Build and maintain rigorous unit, integration, and system-level tests to ensure system robustness and safety.
- Develop and enhance modeling, calibration, and simulation tools for inertial and vision-based navigation systems.
- Contribute to roadmap planning, feature decomposition, and agile execution alongside a multidisciplinary team of autonomy engineers.
- Continuously enhance performance analysis, benchmarking, and validation pipelines to drive rapid innovation and improvement.
Required qualifications:
- M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field; minimum 2+ years of related professional work experience if you have an M.S. degree, or 0 years if you are a new Ph.D. graduate.
- Professional proficiency in modern C++ (C++11 or newer) and strong object-oriented design skills.
- Hands-on experience deploying low-latency C++ applications to embedded Linux platforms.
- Professional experience designing and implementing state estimation algorithms (e.g., EKF, UKF, Particle Filters, graph-based optimization).
- Familiarity with VIO, SLAM, or multi-sensor fusion frameworks (e.g., GTSAM, Ceres, OpenVINS).
- Strong working knowledge of CI pipelines and automated testing frameworks for C++.
- Ability to independently deploy high-reliability code suitable for real-world autonomous systems.
- Familiarity with prototyping in Python or MATLAB is welcome, but this role demands professional C++ production deployment skills. Candidates whose primary experience is in MATLAB or Python are unlikely to find this position a good fit.
Preferred qualifications:
- Deep understanding of graph-based optimization for state estimation.
- Experience developing vision-aided inertial navigation systems (VINS, VIO, Terrain Relative Navigation).
- Experience with navigation sensor calibration (IMU, GPS, barometers, magnetometers, laser altimeters, cameras).
- Experience in benchmarking and system validation for real-world navigation performance.
Skills Required
- M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field
- At least 2 years of related professional experience with an M.S., or 0 years for new Ph.D. graduates
- Professional proficiency in modern C++ including C++11 or newer
- Strong object-oriented design skills
- Hands-on experience deploying low-latency C++ applications to embedded Linux platforms
- Professional experience designing and implementing state estimation algorithms such as EKF, UKF, particle filters, or graph-based optimization
- Familiarity with VIO, SLAM, or multi-sensor fusion frameworks such as GTSAM, Ceres, or OpenVINS
- Strong working knowledge of CI pipelines and automated testing frameworks for C++
- Ability to independently deploy high-reliability code for real-world autonomous systems
- Familiarity with prototyping in Python or MATLAB
- Deep understanding of graph-based optimization for state estimation
- Experience developing vision-aided inertial navigation systems, including VINS, VIO, or Terrain Relative Navigation
- Experience with navigation sensor calibration
- Experience benchmarking and validating real-world navigation performance
What the Team is Saying
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 Teams
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Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
