Chief Engineer, Autonomy

1 month ago

Arlington, United States Shield AI Full time

Introduction to Shield AI

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company whose mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. In pursuit of this mission, Shield AI is building the world’s best AI pilot. Its AI pilot, Hivemind, has flown a fighter jet (F-16), a vertical takeoff and landing drone (V-BAT), and a quadcopter (Nova). The company has offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington DC and abroad. Shield AI’s products and people are currently in the field actively supporting operations with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. allies. 


The Technical Director role at Shield AI is responsible for solving complex technical problems associated with deployment of advanced autonomy solutions on Group 5 Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). The Technical Director is the chief authority responsible for the architecture, design, development, risk mitigation, and quality of delivered products. In this role you will drive day-to-day execution in collaboration with the Project Management and be responsible for leading by leading an engineering team. An ideal candidate should have experience as a Chief Engineer and aspire to be a part of this industry-changing team developing autonomy for the defense space.

What you'll do:

  • The Technical Director role will be the chief engineer on Shield AI projects focused on developing Autonomy and deploying that autonomy to Group 5 aircraft.
  • In this role you will be leading a team responsible for both Shield AI (Hivemind) and Department of Defense (DoD) autonomy architectures.
  • The role will consist of assigning technical objectives, making key decisions, and approving the quality and completeness of the technical output. The Technical role will support both IRAD and Department of Defense contracts.

Required Qualifications:

  • BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical/Aerospace
  • Engineering, and/or similar degree
  • 10+ years of industry experience in autonomy and/or UAS platforms (e.g., defense tech, self-driving car, etc.)
  • 7+ years of delivering software into production environments with high-reliability and high uptime (e.g., thousands of users, 99% uptime)
  • Understanding of the full robotics autonomy stack (e.g., controls, estimation, perception, planning, etc.)
  • Understanding of core machine learning concepts ranging from simple, binary supervised learning to the state-of-the-art in reinforcement learning
  • Understanding of software development processes and how to effectively deploy software to real world devices.
  • Understanding of autonomous behavior development and required sensor integration
  • Experience defining technical scope and managing technical requirements, product architectures, ICDs and other system level design documentation
  • Demonstrate problem solving skills by applying a scientific technical approach
  • Be a customer facing engineering leader supporting government and internally funded development programs
  • Contribute to government contract proposal writing
  • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
  • Excellent leadership skills, driving a team of 6-20 engineers
  • The ability to obtain and maintain a US Security Clearance. US citizenship is required as only US citizens are eligible for a security clearance. 

Total package details:

Regular employee positions: Salary within range listed above + Bonus + Benefits + Equity

Temporary employee positions: Hourly within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)

*Interns/Military Fellows/Part-time not eligible for bonus, benefits or equity

Actual 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.


If you're interested in being part of our team, apply now 


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, color, 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. 

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