Be an Early Applicant
Our mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems.
The Role
Develop and integrate autonomy and edge-AI capabilities using the Hivemind SDK for unmanned platforms across air, sea, and space. Work with customers to deploy and debug integrations, provide technical training, document solutions, collaborate with product teams, and conduct on-site deployments and flight testing (~30% travel).
Summary Generated by Built In
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
The Senior Staff Software Engineer, Autonomy Applications Engineering will provide collaborate with customers to help them enable edge-AI and autonomy to platforms across sea, air, and space. This role involves working closely with customers to understand their requirements, writing code, developing new capabilities and ensuring successful software/hardware integration.
WHAT YOU'LL DO:
- Become an expert user of the Hivemind Enterprise Autonomy Software Development Kit.
- Develop AI & Autonomy software capabilities using Hivemind for unmanned platforms across air/sea/space.
- Examples of Projects You will Work On:
- Autonomous teaming drones.
- Teaming between helicopters and drones.
- Autonomy on Robodogs.
- AI Pilots for Fighter Jets
- and more that we aren’t allowed to publicly share!
- Enable customers to integrate Hivemind autonomy to their vehicles/platforms.
- Debug software/API integration issues.
- Deploy Hivemind AI infrastructure at customer sites.
- Provide technical training to customers for their autonomy development efforts.
- Collaborate with the product and engineering teams to address customer feedback and improve products.
- Develop and maintain technical documentation.
- Travel to and stay at customer sites as required for deployment / training / flight testing etc. (~30% travel).
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
- 7+ years of experience of industry experience or 4+ years of experience plus a master's degree.
- Ability to travel and stay deployed at customer sites across India.
- 3+ years of experience in an integration/applications engineering role.
- 2+ years of experience working in a startup environment.
- Strong technical background in software engineering.
- Strong proficiency in writing modern C++ code.
- Intermediate proficiency in writing Python code.
- Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
- Ability converse fluently in Hindi and English.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Experience in the defense aviation or robotics industry.
- Experience building and running a small enterprise software applications/solutions engineering team.
- Ability to travel to USA for up to 3 months at a time for training.
Our international teammates receive a comprehensive total rewards package aligned to your country office location. For full details on compensation and benefits, please consult your talent acquisition partner.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field
- 7+ years of industry experience (or 4+ years with a master's degree)
- Ability to travel and stay deployed at customer sites across India
- 3+ years of experience in an integration/applications engineering role
- 2+ years of experience working in a startup environment
- Strong technical background in software engineering
- Strong proficiency in writing modern C++ code
- Intermediate proficiency in writing Python code
- Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
- Ability to converse fluently in Hindi and English
- Experience in the defense aviation or robotics industry
- Experience building and running a small enterprise software applications/solutions engineering team
- Ability to travel to USA for up to 3 months at a time for training
What the Team is Saying
Dylan
Lead Engineer, Planning and Controls-Motion
Mo
Lead Engineer, Platform Automation
Willy
Technical Director
Michael
Engineering Manager - State Estimation
Vibhav
Senior Staff Engineer
Kirby
Mechanical Engineer
Ryan
CEO
Evan
Senior Machine Learning Engineer
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials describe excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage alongside a mental‑health EAP. Site perks such as an onsite gym in DC and a gym discount in San Diego support a health‑focused offering.
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Retirement Support — Careers materials highlight a 401(k) with company match as part of the standard package. A Total Rewards overview emphasizes retirement features within a broader, transparent compensation view.
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Career-Linked Recognition & Rewards — Compensation for in‑demand technical and senior go‑to‑market roles is described as competitive, with visible engineering ranges and top‑end packages. This points to meaningful upside tied to role, level, and scarce skills.
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The Company
What We Do
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide.
Why Work With Us
What makes Shield AI special is our people. We unlock the power of autonomy, and in the face of overwhelming odds and challenges, we find ways to win and make a difference for our customers. We bring together software, AI, and aerospace engineering disciplines to deploy the most intelligent aviation capabilities in the world.
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Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
Typical time on-site:
3 days a week
