Staff Software Engineer, Autonomy Capabilities (R5368)

What You'll Do:

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).

Required Qualifications:

BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field
Proficient in production-level C++ software development
7+ years' experience in one or more of the following: software sub-system scheduling and integration, behavior planning, task and resource allocation, motion planning, optimization, or flight controls
Experience with collaborative software development tools for version control, issue tracking, code reviews, and release management
Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams, set technical direction, and manage full project lifecycles from concept to deployment
Capacity to learn and grow individually, while mentoring junior team members effectively, building team cohesion and capacity
Desire to work in a highly collaborative, fast paced, enthusiastic, and mission-centric environment
Capacity to act as the technical owner for an entire software system, including stakeholder engagement, requirements definition, roadmap management, team co-ordination, design, implementation, sustainment, and evolution
Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience across a breadth of technology readiness levels (TRLs) and demonstration of bridging concepts from research-grade to operationally ready
Experience with mission systems integration, and ideally, hands-on experience supporting integration events and/or flight demonstrations
Experience across a multitude of application areas, including but not limited to:
Collaborative mission planning, behavior planning, synchronized teaming
Automated red force vs blue force tactics
Motion planning across a variety of vehicle classes, kinematic constraints, and team compositions
Weapons target assignment, Sensor target pairing, sensor-centric control laws
Collision avoidance, geofencing, and safety-monitoring
Experience in more than one operational effect (e.g., strike, air combat, surveillance, reconnaissance, etc.) and more than one associated domain (e.g., air, space, maritime, ground, etc.)
Experience with FOSS software that is commonly used in robotic systems (e.g., ROS, OMPL, optimization solvers, etc.)
Experience with simulation tools and environments (e.g., AFSIM, NGTS) for testing and validation
Familiarity with practical aspects of navigation and communications systems
Experience across the product delivery lifecycle, from emerging opportunity through system acceptance, deployment, and sustainment
Familiarity with systems engineering methodologies
Familiarity with high-assurance software development processes (e.g., DO-178C or equivalent MIL-STD's)