Ground Control Station (GCS) Software Engineer (R4758)

The role

This role develops ground control station software for unmanned aerial systems. The engineer will build real-time client and server applications, including React and TypeScript operator interfaces.

What you will do

• Design, develop and optimize ground control software for low-latency communication with UAVs and other autonomous platforms.
• Build high-performance client and server applications for telemetry processing, mission planning and real-time control.
• Implement responsive user interfaces with React and TypeScript for operator workflows and spatial data visualization.
• Collaborate with autonomy, embedded systems, backend and UX teams.
• Contribute to architectural decisions for responsiveness, scalability and fault-tolerance.
• Lead development of key features or subsystems from design through deployment.
• Write well-tested code and take part in peer design and code reviews.

Required qualifications

• Senior: Bachelor's degree with 5+ years of relevant experience, or Master's with 4+ years, or PhD with 2+ years.
• Staff: Bachelor's degree with 7+ years of relevant experience, or Master's with 6+ years, or PhD with 4+ years.
• Senior Staff: Bachelor's degree with 10+ years of relevant experience, or Master's with 9+ years, or PhD with 7+ years.
• Demonstrated experience building real-time or performance-sensitive applications.
• Proficiency in a strongly typed language such as C#, TypeScript, Java or C++, with exposure to lower-level systems or protocol integration.
• Experience with React, TypeScript/JavaScript and Node.js.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals: version control, testing, debugging and performance profiling.
• Proven ability to deliver high-quality software in a collaborative team.
• Ability to obtain security clearance.

Nice to have

• Experience with GCS software, mission planning tools or real-time visualization platforms.
• Familiarity with REST or gRPC APIs and protocols such as WebSocket or custom telemetry formats.
• Knowledge of STANAG 4586, Cursor on Target (CoT) or MAVLink.
• Familiarity with Docker, Kubernetes and CI/CD practices.
• Exposure to distributed systems and cloud integration for telemetry data pipelines.
• Understanding of security best practices in control systems and networked applications.

Benefits

• Bonus
• Benefits package
• Equity (full-time regular employees)
• Temporary benefits package, applicable after 60 days of employment (temporary employees)

Before you apply

• All offers are contingent on a cleared background check and possible reference check.
• Ability to obtain security clearance is required.
• Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits.

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.