Senior Staff Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration – Emerging Domains (R5398)

Posted:
7/30/2026, 11:48:24 AM

Location(s):
District of Columbia, United States ⋅ Dallas, Texas, United States ⋅ Boston, Massachusetts, United States ⋅ California, United States ⋅ San Diego, California, United States ⋅ Massachusetts, United States ⋅ Washington, District of Columbia, United States ⋅ Texas, United States

Experience Level(s):
Expert or higher ⋅ Senior

Field(s):
Software Engineering

Workplace Type:
On-site

Pay:
$164k–$222k/yr

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedInXInstagram, and YouTube. 

The Autonomous Pilot Integration team for Emerging Domains builds autonomy solutions for new platforms and mission profiles outside Shield AI's established portfolios—including space (satellites, missile defense), maritime (USV and UUV integration), and contested logistics (unmanned helicopters and related autonomous resupply platforms). The team takes on short-term R&D and integration efforts—often standing up the first autonomy on a brand-new platform or mission—with the intent that successful efforts grow into larger, multi-year programs. We combine capabilities from the Autonomy Capabilities team (motion planning, tactics), the Perception team (e.g., ViDAR, ATR), and the HivemindSDK—selectively leveraging existing Shield AI autonomy solutions where they apply—to develop autonomy that runs on these new platforms. Our engineers write new autonomy code—such as mission behaviors, platform-specific control, multi-agent coordination, contingencies, and executive autonomy—and own it end-to-end from software-in-the-loop, to hardware-in-the-loop, to vehicle-in-the-loop, to live test exercise. 

In this role, you'll define the technical direction for Emerging Domains, guiding autonomy strategy across multiple new platforms and mission areas while helping transform early-stage R&D efforts into scalable, long-term programs. You'll solve the organization's most complex technical challenges, influence engineering strategy across organizations, and partner with engineering leadership, platform teams, and customer stakeholders to shape the future of Shield AI's next generation of autonomy portfolios. 

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Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
 
Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
 
Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
 
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Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.