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Senior Staff Software Engineer, Autonomy Capabilities (R4587)

Shield AI· Hivemind Solutions Division – Flight System Integration
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San Mateo, CA$280.5k - $420.8kFull Time EmployeePosted 1mo ago

About the role

Senior technical lead role focused on developing and integrating autonomy capabilities for unmanned platforms across air, land, and sea domains, blending classical autonomy with ML approaches and coordinating across perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and flight test teams.

Responsibilities

  • Tactical Autonomy Design – Design tactical autonomy algorithms to enable unmanned aircraft to perform complex missions across air, land, and sea domains with minimal human supervision.
  • High-Performance Software Development – Develop high-performance software modules that incorporate planning, decision-making, and behavior execution strategies for dynamic and adversarial environments.
  • Behavior Architecture Implementation – Implement and test behavior architectures that enable multi-agent coordination, target engagement, reconnaissance, and survivability in contested scenarios.
  • Hybrid Autonomy Integration – Work at the intersection of classical autonomy and machine learning, blending rule-based systems with learning-based methods such as reinforcement learning to achieve robust, adaptive behavior.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration – Collaborate with cross-functional teams including perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and flight test to ensure seamless integration of autonomy solutions on real-world platforms.
  • Deployment & Field Testing – Deploy autonomy capabilities to real platforms and participate in field tests and flight demos, validating performance in operationally relevant conditions.
  • Mission Data Analysis – Analyze mission logs and performance data to diagnose failures, optimize behavior models, and inform iterative development.
  • R&D and Roadmapping – Contribute to the autonomy roadmap by researching and prototyping new algorithms, identifying tactical capability gaps, and proposing novel solutions that advance Shield AI’s mission.
  • Program Support & Adaptation – Support defense-focused programs and customer needs by adapting autonomy solutions to evolving mission sets, compliance requirements, and operational feedback.
  • Travel Requirement – Members of this team typically travel around 10-15% of the year (to different office locations, customer sites, and flight integration events).

Qualifications

  • BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and/or similar degree, or equivalent practical experience
  • Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 9 years and a Master’s degree; or 7 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.
  • Proficiency in programming languages such as C++ and Python, and familiarity with real-time operating systems (RTOS).
  • Significant background in robotics technologies related to motion planning, behavior modeling, decision-making, or autonomous system design.
  • Significant experience with unmanned system technologies and accompanying algorithms (specifically air domain)
  • Experience with simulation tools and environments (e.g., AFSIM, NGTS) for testing and validation.
  • Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to troubleshoot and optimize system performance.
  • Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with the ability to work effectively in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment.
  • Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.

Skills

Required:Tactical autonomy designHigh-performance software developmentBehavior architecture implementationHybrid autonomy integrationCross-functional collaborationDeployment & field testing

Benefits

  • Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
  • Temporary employee offer package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
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.

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