Engineering Lead, Autonomy Software (R4705)

Founded in 2015, 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 and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft. 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 LinkedIn , X , Instagram , and YouTube .

Job Description:

Lead the development of cutting-edge autonomy software that enables unmanned systems to operate intelligently in complex, real-world environments. In this role, you will guide multidisciplinary teams to design, build, and deploy high-performance autonomy solutions—from algorithm development to system integration and field testing. Working at the intersection of robotics, aerospace, and software engineering, you’ll drive mission-critical capabilities from concept to flight, delivering resilient, scalable systems that perform in dynamic and contested conditions.

What you'll do:

• Multidisciplinary Team Leadership – Lead teams across autonomy, integration, and testing by aligning technical efforts, resolving cross-functional challenges, and driving mission-focused execution. Balance hands-on technical oversight with performance optimization, innovation, and clear stakeholder communication.
• 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.
• 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.

Required qualifications:

• A tertiary level qualification in Computer Science, Mechatronics, Software Engineering, Robotics or a related field
• Significant professional experience in robotics, autonomy, perception or aerospace systems
• Strong experience in modern C++
• Experience leading teams to delivery engineering projects
• Significant experience in building and delivering reliable software systems, ideally in fast-paced environments

Preferred qualifications:

• Prior experience with uncrewed systems, especially in the air domain
• Defence industry experience
• Significant experience in one or more of the following domains:* State Estimation
• Real-Time Systems
• Guidance, Navigation and Control
• Path Planning

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.

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, colour, 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.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.