Senior Staff Engineer, Software Autonomy (R5125)

The role

This is a hands-on technical lead role building edge-AI and autonomy software for sea, air, and space platforms. The work includes writing code, working with customers on their requirements, integrating software with hardware, and mentoring teammates.

What you will do

• Design tactical autonomy algorithms for unmanned aircraft across air, land and sea domains
• Develop high-performance software modules for planning, decision-making and behavior execution
• Implement and test behavior architectures for multi-agent coordination and contested scenarios
• Blend rule-based autonomy with learning-based methods such as reinforcement learning
• Integrate autonomy solutions with perception, planning, simulation, hardware and flight test teams
• Deploy autonomy capabilities to real platforms and take part in field tests and flight demos
• Analyze mission logs and performance data to diagnose failures and optimize behavior models
• Research and prototype new algorithms for the autonomy roadmap
• Provide software handover and training to customers
• Develop and maintain technical documentation for customers and internal use

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's and Master's degree in Aerospace, AI, Computer Science, Robotics or a related engineering field
• 12+ years of industry experience
• 3+ years of hands-on experience writing software for autonomy or robotics applications
• 2+ years of experience working in a startup environment
• Strong technical background in software engineering
• Strong proficiency in modern C++
• Intermediate proficiency in Python
• Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to converse fluently in Hindi and English
• Ability to travel and stay deployed at customer sites across India/Asia

Nice to have

• Experience in the defense aviation or robotics industry
• Ability to travel to the USA for up to 3 months at a time for training

Benefits

• Bonus for regular employee positions
• Benefits for regular employee positions
• Equity for regular employee positions
• Temporary benefits package for temporary employees, applicable after 60 days of employment
• International premium, hardship differential and cost of living differential for international roles
• Living quarters allowance and foreign service transfer allowance for international roles
• International benefits, visa assistance and relocation assistance for international roles

Before you apply

• All offers are contingent on a cleared background check and possible reference check
• Salary depends on skill set, experience, licenses and certifications, and work location

About the company

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company that builds intelligent systems to protect service members and civilians. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies.