Senior Software Engineer, Autonomy Capabilities – Maritime (R5339)

The role

You will build autonomy software for unmanned surface vehicles, underwater vehicles and cooperating drones, covering motion planning, localization, safe maritime operations and multi-agent teaming. You will own major features from design to deployment, work with cross-functional teams, and mentor junior engineers.

What you will do

• Automate unmanned surface vehicle and underwater vehicle maneuvering with advanced motion planning and safety constraints
• Develop passive and active localization and tracking using sensor fusion
• Keep vehicle safety central in autonomous behavior, including run-time assurance and COLREGS adherence
• Develop distributed optimization and task allocation for heterogeneous teams of agents
• Write high-performance, well-tested software ready for mid-to-high technology readiness level insertions
• Work with perception, planning, simulation, hardware and operational test teams
• Deploy autonomy to real surface vehicles and support integration and demonstration events
• Analyze mission logs to verify software performance
• Research and prototype new algorithms and contribute to autonomy roadmaps
• Mentor more junior engineers and interface with customers in limited capacities

Required qualifications

• BS or MS in Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace Engineering or similar, or equivalent practical experience
• Minimum 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; 9 years with a Master's; or 7 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience
• Proficiency in C++ and Python
• Significant background in control systems, motion planning, optimization, tactical behaviors and/or distributed decision-making
• Significant experience with unmanned system technologies and algorithms, ideally in the maritime domain
• Experience with simulation tools such as AFSIM, NGTS or similar
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to troubleshoot and optimize system performance
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills in a multidisciplinary environment
• Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance or higher

Nice to have

• Experience in multiple domains (air, land, sea, space)
• Experience across classical control, optimization and applied ML/RL
• Background in collaborative behaviors and swarm robotics
• Familiarity with DoD or government programs
• Hands-on experience supporting integration events, customer demos and/or live exercises
• Experience in applied research and development

Benefits

• Bonus
• Benefits package for full-time regular employees
• Equity for full-time regular employees
• Temporary benefits package for temporary employees after 60 days

Before you apply

• Offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check
• A SECRET clearance or higher must be obtainable
• Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits
• Compensation 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.