Shield AI
Director, Test Engineering - ACP Programs
Washington, D.C. · Director · Full-time · Posted Oct 6, 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; or Master’s; or PhD; or equivalent experience.
- Visa sponsorship
- Ability to obtain and maintain a SECRET clearance; U.S. citizenship required.
About the job
Leads integration, verification, and flight testing of Hivemind autonomy on group 5 autonomous collaborative aircraft, from simulation and lab environments through operationally relevant flight missions.
What you'll do
- Own test strategy, readiness, safety, and execution across simulation, SIL/HIL, ground, and flight test environments.
- Lead multi-phase flight test campaigns, including multi-aircraft coordination, and approve test plans and execution flow.
- Coordinate OEM partners, government customers, and internal teams; define performance metrics and analyze test outcomes.
What they ask for
- Experience leading flight test or large-scale system integration, with authority over readiness, execution, and risk decisions.
- Strong background in full-scale aviation testing, including aircraft integration, ground test, and flight operations.
- Experience with system-level verification and validation across multiple test environments; proficiency in Python or similar tools for test automation, data analysis, or validation.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a SECRET clearance; U.S. citizenship required.
Nice to have
- Experience with ACP, loyal wingman concepts, or multi-vehicle autonomous systems.
- Background in autonomy, AI/ML-enabled systems, or human-machine teaming in aviation.
Tools
Hivemind, SIL, HIL, Python, Git, Jira/Azure DevOps, CI/CD
AI focus
Flight test and maturation of Hivemind AI Pilot autonomy capabilities, including cooperative autonomy, multi-vehicle coordination, and human-machine teaming.
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative