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NEXTMOVEFDE careers · United States
Shield AI

Manager of Engineering - Autonomous Pilot Integration (R5153)

AI summary of the role

Lead a team of autonomy engineers integrating and fielding autonomy software for launched effects platforms (small air/ground-launched, multi-agent, air-gapped) for U.S. and international defense customers.

What you’ll do

  • Manage a small-to-mid-sized engineering team (3–8 engineers), owning performance, growth, leveling, and delivery.
  • Drive hiring, mentoring, and technical development of engineers.
  • Lead design, development, and fielding of autonomy software on launched effects platforms, including payload computer bring-up, autopilot integration (PX4, ArduPilot), and multi-agent coordination.
  • Own pre-deployment preparation and fleet-scale deployments (50–150+ units) in disconnected/air-gapped environments.

What you’ll bring

  • BS/MS in CS, EE, ME, AE or equivalent; typically 7+ years with BS, 5+ with MS, 4+ with PhD.
  • 2+ years direct people-management experience.
  • Experience building/growing engineering teams and mentoring engineers.
  • Direct experience with launched effects, loitering munitions, or comparable small unmanned platforms.

Technologies

C++ · PX4 · ArduPilot · QGroundControl · DDS · Linux · Python · k3s · Docker · CMake · Conan · UCI

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

Production engineering · Evidence for this classification:

fusion), and the HivemindSDK to develop the autonomy software that runs on launched effects platforms, then integrate, validate, and field it on the real hardware — for U.S. and international defense customers. Our engineers write new autonomy code — such as mission behaviors, platform-specific control, multi-agent coordination, contingencies, and executive autonomy — and own it end-to-end from software-in-the-loop, to hardware-in-the-loop, to vehicle-in-the-loop, to live test exercise. In this role, you'll lead a team of autonomy engineers working on launched effects programs — owning their delivery, their growth, and the technical health of your area. A core part of the job is growing the team: hiring strong engineers, mentoring them through hard technical work, and shaping their career development. You'll stay technically active — close enough to the code and the integration work to
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