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NEXTMOVEFDE careers · United States
Shield AI

Senior Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration (R5200)

AI summary of the role

Senior software engineer on the Autonomous Pilot Integration team, responsible for developing and fielding autonomy software on unmanned platforms across air, maritime, space, and effects/expendables.

What you’ll do

  • Develop and integrate autonomy software onto unmanned platforms, including payload computer bring-up and container-based deployment.
  • Collaborate with Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, feature crews, and external platform integrators to deliver mission-critical functionality.
  • Own build, configuration, and validation for mission-ready systems, coordinating hardware/software compatibility and release cadence.
  • Travel to test sites to support live mission operations, including safety checks, system bring-up, and troubleshooting.

What you’ll bring

  • BS/MS in CS, EE, ME, AE or equivalent; typically 5+ years with BS, 4+ with MS, 2+ with PhD.
  • Proficiency in C++ with real-time or latency-sensitive systems experience.
  • Proficiency in Linux-based development, embedded systems, shell scripting, and system diagnostics.
  • Familiarity with middleware, pub-sub, or IPC frameworks (e.g., DDS, ActiveMQ).

Technologies

C++ · Linux · DDS · ActiveMQ · k3s · k3d · Docker · PX4 · ArduPilot · CMake · Conan · Python

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:

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. The Autonomous Pilot Integration team builds autonomy solutions for a wide range of CONOPs and mission sets. We combine capabilities from the Autonomy Capabilities team (motion planning, tactics), the Perception team (e.g., track fusion), and the HivemindSDK to develop the autonomy software that runs on an unmanned platform — air, maritime, space, or effects/expendables,
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