Senior Staff Engineer, Autonomy Capabilities - Space

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.

This position is perfect for an individual who enjoys solving the most complex problems across a portfolio of diverse domains and modalities. An ideal candidate is expected to apply classical autonomous techniques, algorithms, and theory to various platforms in multiple tactical scenarios. These solutions are expected to be integrated into real-world problems with near-term program impacts and rewards.

Shield AI is committed to developing cutting-edge autonomy for unmanned aircraft operating across all Department of Defense (DoD) domains, including air, sea, and land. We aim to push the envelope by combining traditional autonomous systems algorithms with deep reinforcement learning-based solutions to deliver unmatched capability, agility, and speed in deploying advanced technologies that support national defense

This position is perfect for an individual who enjoys solving the most complex problems across a portfolio of diverse domains and modalities. An ideal candidate is expected to apply classical autonomous techniques, algorithms, and theory to various platforms in multiple tactical scenarios. These solutions are expected to be integrated into real-world problems with near-term program impacts and rewards.

Shield AI is committed to developing cutting-edge autonomy for unmanned aircraft operating across all Department of Defense (DoD) domains, including air, sea, and land. We aim to push the envelope by combining traditional autonomous systems algorithms with deep reinforcement learning-based solutions to deliver unmatched capability, agility, and speed in deploying advanced technologies that support national defense

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.

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and/or similar degree, or equivalent practical experience

• Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 9 years and a Master’s degree; or 7 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.

• Proficiency in programming languages such as C++ and Python, and familiarity with real-time operating systems (RTOS).

• Significant background in robotics technologies related to motion planning, behavior modeling, decision-making, or autonomous system design.

• Significant experience with unmanned system technologies and accompanying algorithms (ideally in the space domain specifically)

• Experience with simulation tools and environments (e.g., AFSIM, NGTS) for testing and validation.

• Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to troubleshoot and optimize system performance.

• Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with the ability to work effectively in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment.

Experience in multiple aerospace domains (e.g., air, land, sea, space)

Experience across a breadth of methodologies from classical control through optimization and applied ML/RL

Hands-on experience supporting integration events, customer demos, and/or live exercises

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Multi-Objective Optimization

• Use advanced optimization strategies to perform large-scale distributed decision making, task allocation, and resource scheduling in multi-satellite coordinated missions

Weapons Target Assignment

• Employ cutting edge approaches for weapons target assignment and motion planning for fleets of space vehicles and interceptors that have critical roles in our national defense

Advance the State of the Art

• Pioneer advanced topics in low-SWaP optimal control, tactical behavior management in cooperative and adversarial contexts, and information-aware planning

Rigorous Software Development

• Develop high-performance software modules that are well-tested, have clear interfaces and span-of-control, and are ready for mid-to-high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) insertions

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and flight test to ensure seamless integration of autonomy solutions on real-world platforms

Deployment & Test Support

• Deploy autonomy capabilities to real space vehicles, supporting analysis of mission logs to verify software performance and validate system operational effect

R&D and Road-mapping

• Contribute to autonomy roadmaps by researching and prototyping new algorithms, identifying tactical capability gaps, and proposing novel solutions that advance Shield AI’s mission

Travel Requirement

• Members of this team typically travel around 10-15% of the year (to different office locations, customer sites, and flight integration events).