Shield AI
Senior Staff Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration – Expeditionary (R5193)
Washington, D.C. · Senior Staff · Full-time · Posted Sep 17, 2026
- Experience
- 10+ years of relevant experience.
- Education
- BS/MS in a relevant engineering discipline or equivalent experience.
About the job
Leads technical strategy and cross-team integration of autonomy software for V-BAT, X-BAT, and future expeditionary platforms, from architecture through field deployment.
What you'll do
- Set technical direction and lead architecture for autonomy, aircraft interfaces, payloads, and multi-agent capabilities.
- Coordinate engineering teams and customers to resolve complex integration challenges and ensure mission readiness.
- Guide releases, validation, engineering standards, process improvements, and mentorship of senior engineers.
What they ask for
- Expert-level C++ and Linux systems development experience.
- Demonstrated technical strategy leadership across multiple engineering teams or programs.
- Proven ability to influence architecture and solve complex systems integration challenges; experience mentoring senior engineers and driving engineering excellence.
- Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.
Nice to have
- Experience with Group 3 UAS, VTOL platforms, or comparable autonomous systems; flight-autonomy interfaces or custom autopilot integrations.
- Experience deploying autonomy to operational military systems, working with international defense customers, or with STANAG 4586, UCI, OMS, and open-systems architectures.
Tools
C++, Linux, STANAG 4586, UCI, OMS, HivemindSDK
AI focus
Leads development and integration of autonomy software for unmanned aircraft, including mission behaviors, perception-related capabilities, executive autonomy, and multi-agent operations.
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