← All roles

Senior Staff Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration – Expeditionary (R5193)

Shield AI· Hivemind Solutions Division – Flight System Integration
Apply on company site
Hybrid (Washington, D.C.; Boston; San Diego; Dallas)$233.8k - $350.6kFull Time EmployeePosted 3mo ago

About the role

Senior staff role owning technical direction for Expeditionary autonomy across V-BAT and X-BAT, defining long-term strategy and solving complex integration challenges to field mission autonomy and multi-agent capabilities on expeditionary platforms.

Responsibilities

  • Technical Strategy & Portfolio Leadership – Define and drive the long-term technical direction for Expeditionary autonomy across V-BAT, X-BAT, and future platforms.
  • Develop & Field Autonomy – Guide development of mission autonomy, payload integration, flight-autonomy interfaces, executive autonomy, and multi-agent capabilities while ensuring successful operational deployment.
  • Aircraft Team Partnership – Establish long-term technical strategy with the Aircraft team for platform integration, interface evolution, and mission readiness.
  • Cross-Engineering Leadership – Influence architecture across the Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, GCS, Strategic Systems (ACP), Aircraft, and customer organizations.
  • Subject Matter Expertise – Serve as the organization's technical expert for complex autonomy integration challenges spanning software, hardware, and operations.
  • Design & Engineering Excellence – Lead architecture reviews, engineering standards, interface definitions, and organization-wide technical improvements.
  • Mentorship & Organizational Growth – Mentor senior engineers, develop technical leaders, contribute to leveling frameworks, and partner on senior hiring.
  • Mission Readiness & Operational Excellence – Guide customer releases, deployment strategy, and mission validation while supporting critical operational events.
  • Continuous Improvement – Drive long-term improvements to engineering processes, integration workflows, testing infrastructure, and developer experience.
  • C2 Interoperability & Open Systems – Define technical strategy for command-and-control interoperability and adoption of open-systems standards.
  • Hiring & Developing Technical Talent – Define the technical hiring bar for senior engineering roles, partner with engineering managers on long-term staffing strategy, and help grow the organization's technical capabilities.

Qualifications

  • BS/MS in a relevant engineering discipline or equivalent experience.
  • 10+ years of relevant experience.
  • Expert-level C++ and Linux systems development experience.
  • Demonstrated experience defining technical strategy across multiple engineering teams or programs.
  • Proven track record influencing architecture and solving highly complex systems integration challenges.
  • Experience mentoring senior engineers and driving engineering excellence.
  • Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.

Skills

Required:C++LinuxTechnical strategyleadership & mentoring

Benefits

  • Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
  • Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location.
  • All offers contingent on cleared background and possible reference check.
  • Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits.
Last updated Oct 23, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Shield AI

Autonomy for the world.

Our mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems.

AerospaceAutonomyDefenseliquid-ai-recruiting-targetsetter-30setter-30-2026-q1
Company profileWebsite

More open roles at Shield AI