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NEXTMOVEFDE careers · United States
Shield AI

Senior Staff Engineer, ML Ops (R4941)

AI summary of the role

Senior Staff Engineer to architect and build Shield AI's Kubernetes-native AI Factory Reference Architecture for developing, training, and deploying AI models across cloud, on-prem, sovereign, and air-gapped environments.

No longer in the current catalog. Last included 2026-09-09. Check the employer’s posting for availability.

What you’ll do

  • Lead design and implementation of the Kubernetes-native AI Factory Reference Architecture for AI development, distributed training, simulation, evaluation, and deployment.
  • Partner with ML researchers to support state-of-the-art AI frameworks, foundation model development, reinforcement learning, and distributed training workflows.
  • Design self-service AI development workflows enabling seamless transition from local experimentation to large-scale distributed execution.
  • Build and optimize shared GPU infrastructure across cloud and on-premises, improving utilization, scheduling, storage, networking, and observability.

What you’ll bring

  • Experience building Kubernetes-native AI or MLOps platforms supporting distributed ML workloads.
  • Deep understanding of modern AI training frameworks including PyTorch, Hugging Face Transformers, and distributed training techniques.
  • Experience operating GPU-accelerated infrastructure and distributed training systems.
  • Strong understanding of Kubernetes, Linux, networking, security, storage, and distributed systems.

Technologies

Kubernetes · PyTorch · Hugging Face Transformers · Terraform · Helm · Python · Golang · Ray · KAI · Slurm · OpenTelemetry · Prometheus

About Shield AI

Builds AI pilot software, aircraft, and vision systems that let militaries and OEMs develop, deploy, and operate mission autonomy in contested environments.

Unicorn

Source and classification

Internal deployment & tooling · Evidence for this classification:

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 builds autonomy systems for defense applications, including air, maritime, and space platforms operating in complex and contested environments. We are building the AI Factory Reference Architecture, a Kubernetes-native platform for developing, training, evaluating, and deploying next-generation AI systems. The AI Factory serves two purposes.
More from the job description

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 builds autonomy systems for defense applications, including air, maritime, and space platforms operating in complex and contested environments. We are building the AI Factory Reference Architecture, a Kubernetes-native platform for developing, training, evaluating, and deploying next-generation AI systems. The AI Factory serves two purposes. Internally, it powers autonomy development across Hivemind and other AI programs. Externally, it becomes the reference architecture deployed into customer environments, spanning commercial cloud, on-premise infrastructure, sovereign deployments, and fully air-gapped systems. We are looking for a Senior Staff Engineer to help define and build this platform. You will partner closely with ML researchers, platform engineers, and autonomy teams to deliver an exceptional developer experience for train [... source excerpt omitted ...] ill work hands-on across the stack, helping shape both the platform architecture and its implementation while staying closely aligned with the rapidly evolving AI ecosystem. What you'll do: AI Platform Development: Lead the design and implementation of the AI Factory Reference Architecture, delivering a Kubernetes-native platform for AI development, distributed training, simulation, evaluation, and deployment. AI Research Enablement: Partner directly with ML researchers to understand evolving training workflows and ensure the platform supports state-of-the-art AI frameworks, foundation model development, reinforcement learning, distributed training, and emerging research wor [... source excerpt omitted ...] rm Distribution: Develop repeatable deployment and lifecycle management solutions using Infrastructure as Code and modern platform engineering practices. Support commercial cloud, customer-managed infrastructure, sovereign environments, and fully air-gapped deployments. Technology Leadership: Evaluate emerging AI infrastructure technologies and establish architectural patterns that balance scalability, performance, maintainability, and developer experience. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with AI researchers, autonomy teams, infrastructure engineers, and product teams to ensure the platform evolves alongside customer needs and advances in AI. Key Outcomes: Engine

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