Shield AI
Director, Test Engineering - ACP Programs
$210K–$310K
Washington, D.C. · On-site · Director · Full-time · Posted May 23, 2026
- Experience
- Typically 12+ years with a Bachelor’s degree; or 10+ years with a Master’s; or 10+ years with a PhD; or equivalent experience.
- Education
- Bachelor’s degree; Master’s or PhD alternatives are stated in the experience requirement.
About the job
Leads integration, verification, and flight testing of Hivemind autonomy on Group 5 autonomous collaborative aircraft, from simulation through operationally relevant flight campaigns.
What you'll do
- Own test strategy and lead multi-phase system verification and flight-test campaigns, including multi-aircraft scenarios.
- Direct test readiness, safety and risk decisions, mission execution, and coordination with OEMs, government customers, and internal teams.
- Define test infrastructure, performance metrics, processes, and traceability from requirements to test outcomes.
What they ask for
- Demonstrated leadership of flight test or large-scale system integration, including test readiness, execution, and risk decisions.
- Strong full-scale aviation test background, including aircraft integration, ground testing, and flight operations; experience with verification and validation across multiple test environments.
- Proficiency in Python or similar tools for test automation, data analysis, or system validation.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a SECRET clearance; U.S. citizenship required.
Nice to have
- Experience with ACP, loyal wingman, or multi-vehicle autonomous systems; military aviation DT&E/OT&E, government flight-test ranges, or aviation autonomy.
- Active SECRET clearance; experience with airworthiness, flight clearance, configuration control, Git, Jira/Azure DevOps, or CI/CD pipelines.
Pay
USD 210,000–310,000 per-year-salary (base salary)
Tools
Hivemind, Python, SIL, HIL, Git, Jira/Azure DevOps, CI/CD
AI focus
Integration, verification, and flight testing of Hivemind AI Pilot autonomy capabilities, including cooperative autonomy and human-machine teaming.
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