Senior Staff Engineer, UxS Integration and Systems (R5507)

Shield AI busca un experto senior en integración y sistemas UxS para asegurar que Hivemind pueda desarrollarse, probarse, demostrarse y soportarse en sistemas no tripulados representativos. El rol se sitúa en la intersección del software de autonomía, aeronaves y sistemas robóticos no tripulados, computación a bordo, redes, radios, sensores, controladores de vuelo, simulación, operaciones de prueba y demostraciones orientadas al cliente. Será un punto focal técnico para la integración y preparación de pruebas, liderando esfuerzos prácticos de integración y resolución de problemas, y asesorando a equipos de ingeniería, prueba, producto y operaciones.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a senior technical focal point for Hivemind integration and test readiness across unmanned aircraft, robotic systems, representative test vehicles, onboard compute, radios, sensors, payloads, and supporting ground equipment.
• Lead hands-on integration and troubleshooting efforts that span autonomy software, hardware, flight controllers, communications systems, networking, operator interfaces, and field operations.
• Partner with engineering, test, product, operations, field, and customer-facing teams to evaluate new platforms and determine how they can best support Hivemind development, validation, training, demonstrations, and customer objectives.
• Help take systems from early concept or benchtop integration through representative test, field execution, and operationally relevant demonstrations.
• Provide senior-level technical judgment on platform suitability, integration complexity, test readiness, risk, safety, maintainability, cost, availability, and customer value.
• Support test planning and execution across simulated, hardware-in-the-loop, live-vehicle, and flight-test environments while keeping the role focused on practical system readiness and evidence quality.
• Help define clear readiness criteria, test expectations, operating assumptions, and handoff points for representative hardware used by Hivemind teams.
• Diagnose complex cross-disciplinary issues and help route them effectively across software, autonomy, hardware, flight-test, networking, and operations stakeholders.
• Contribute to test methods, metrics, and evidence practices that improve confidence in Hivemind behavior across representative and real-world environments.
• Support automation, tooling, and data-review practices that improve repeatability, reduce manual burden, and make hardware-based testing easier to operate at scale.
• Capture and share practical knowledge from platform bring-up, test events, flight operations, and customer-facing demonstrations so teams can reuse lessons learned.
• Mentor engineers and operators on systems integration, hardware readiness, field troubleshooting, test discipline, and practical autonomy test execution.

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience in UxS or UAS systems integration, robotics hardware integration, autonomy test operations, flight test, field engineering, embedded systems, or similar hands-on technical roles.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex integration efforts across hardware, software, autonomy, networking, communications, sensors, and operational test environments.
• Strong practical experience bringing up, configuring, operating, and troubleshooting unmanned systems, onboard compute, flight controllers, radios, sensors, ground stations, and supporting test equipment.
• Working knowledge of Linux, embedded systems, networking, system configuration, data collection, logs, services, and field diagnostics.
• Experience with unmanned-systems autopilot or flight-control ecosystems such as PX4, ArduPilot, MAVLink, Pixhawk/Cube-class flight controllers, QGroundControl, Mission Planner, or equivalent systems.
• Experience supporting testing across simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, live-vehicle, field, or flight-test environments.
• Ability to develop and communicate test plans, readiness criteria, operating assumptions, technical recommendations, and post-test findings for cross-functional audiences.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and debugging skills across ambiguous, cross-disciplinary technical issues.
• Ability to lead through influence across engineering, test, product, operations, field, and customer-facing teams.
• Familiarity with scripting, automation, or data-analysis workflows using Python, Bash, MATLAB, or similar tools.
• Strong ownership, urgency, and judgment in fast-moving environments where requirements, platforms, and constraints may evolve quickly.
• Ability to comply with export-control, safety, security, customer-site, and mission-specific operating requirements.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance; U.S. citizenship required.

Nice to have

• Experience with Hivemind, autonomy SDKs, autonomous aircraft systems, robotics middleware, simulation infrastructure, or edge-deployed autonomy software.
• Hands-on experience with NVIDIA Jetson, embedded Linux, systemd services, containerized deployment, device provisioning, and field update workflows.
• Experience with RF/radio setup, mesh networking, tactical datalinks, software-defined radios, or communications-degraded test scenarios.
• Experience supporting flight test, range operations, customer trials, operational rehearsals, or complex demonstrations.
• Experience integrating EO/IR cameras, gimbals, lidar, GPS/GNSS, IMUs, payloads, or perception sensors.
• Experience contributing to test automation, regression frameworks, data validation, performance benchmarking, or CI/CD-integrated test workflows.
• Familiarity with C++ for debugging, interface review, or collaboration with software engineering teams.
• FAA Part 107, private pilot license, military UAS, aviation maintenance, flight-test, or range-safety experience.
• Experience defining reference configurations, hardware baselines, supported configurations, or setup guidance for internal and external users.
• Active Secret clearance or higher.

Benefits

• Full-time regular employee offer package:
• Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
• Temporary employee offer package:
• Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
• 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. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.