Senior Staff Engineer - Autonomy

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, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. 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:

Shield AI is a venture-backed defence technology company building intelligent autonomous systems for aircraft. Our mission is to protect service members and civilians through AI and autonomy. 

We’re on the lookout for an experienced Staff Engineer, Autonomy to join our Hivemind Solutions team and help design, build, and deploy real-world autonomous capabilities for uncrewed systems. This is a hands-on engineering role, blending software development with robotics, perception, and path planning. You’ll be joining a high-performing team shaping the future of AI pilots for solving real-world problems. 

If you’re a capable C++ developer with a passion for robotics and autonomy, this is your chance to make a real impact. 

What you'll do:

• As an Senior Staff Engineer, Autonomy you’ll work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, task & motion planning and controls. 

• Design and implement autonomous behaviours for uncrewed aircraft. 

• Work with real sensor data and build robust sensor fusion solutions. 

• Develop and test autonomy systems in high-fidelity software and hardware in-the-loop simulations. 

• Integrate Shield AI autonomy products together with third-party aircraft and systems. 

• Collaborate across AI, robotics, and systems engineering teams to deliver integrated solutions. 

• Contribute to architecture, code quality, design reviews and best practices. 

• Lead and Mentor junior engineers

Required qualifications:

• A tertiary level qualification in Computer Science, Mechatronics, Software Engineering, Aerospace, Robotics or a related field

• Significant professional experience in robotics, autonomy, perception or aerospace systems

• Strong experience in modern C++

• 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

Eligibility

• Our mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems, and this role supports that mission directly by working with Australian Government classified material. It requires an Australian Government security clearance at [Baseline / NV1 / NV2] level. 

• You don't need to hold a clearance already, we will sponsor your clearance and support you, because mission first, people always. Australian citizenship is a mandatory requirement for this role. It is a condition of clearance eligibility set by the Australian Government, eligibility details are here: https://www.agsva.gov.au/applicants/eligibility-suitability 

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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.