Senior Staff Engineer, Autonomy Behaviors (R4073)

Shield AI
Washington
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeUSD 220,800 - 331,200 annuallyFunction: Solutions Engineering & Sales EngineeringEducation: bachelorsSkills: ["Problem-solving","Communication","Teamwork","Collaboration"]

Senior Staff Engineer to design and implement autonomous behavior for unmanned aircraft, blending classical autonomy with machine learning, and collaborating with perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and flight test teams to deploy on real platforms. The role involves high-performance software, multi-agent coordination, field testing, and R&D to advance tactical autonomy capabilities across air, land, and sea domains.

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FursaFursa
Shield AI
Shield AI
1 year ago

Senior Staff Engineer, Autonomy Behaviors (R4073)

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Source: Company careers pageValidated by: Fursa AI
Last checked: 1 hour agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Senior Staff Engineer to design and implement autonomous behavior for unmanned aircraft, blending classical autonomy with machine learning, and collaborating with perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and flight test teams to deploy on real platforms. The role involves high-performance software, multi-agent coordination, field testing, and R&D to advance tactical autonomy capabilities across air, land, and sea domains.
Location: Washington
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Full time · Permanent
Job Function: Solutions Engineering & Sales Engineering

Key Responsibilities

  • •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.
Travel: Low travel

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 220,800 - 331,200 annually
Equity and Bonus:Equity
Perks:Annual BonusEquity

Key Requirements

  • •BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and/or similar degree, or equivalent practical experience
  • •Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 9 years and a Master’s degree; or 7 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience
  • •Proficiency in programming languages such as C++ and Python, and familiarity with real-time operating systems (RTOS)
  • •Significant background in robotics technologies related to motion planning, behavior modeling, decision-making, or autonomous system design
  • •Significant experience with unmanned system technologies and accompanying algorithms (specifically air domain)
Experience:DefenseRoboticsUnmanned systemsAutonomy
Education:Bachelor's
Skills:Problem-solvingCommunicationTeamworkCollaboration
Tech Stack:C++PythonRTOSAFSIMNGTSMotion planningRobotics

Eligibility

Security Clearance:Secret

Company Brief

Shield AI
Develops AI-powered autonomy and software for military aircraft and drones to enable autonomous ISR and combat missions, integrating perception, navigation, and mission planning for defense customers.
Industry: Defense Technology
Company Size: Large (251 to 1,000 employees)
Growth: Scaleup
Funding: Series E+
Headquarters: San Diego, United States
Founded: 2015
WebsiteLinkedIn