Senior Staff Engineer, Autonomy Software Integration & Test (R5539)

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. We are seeking an Autonomy Software Integration & Test Engineer to support development, integration, testing, and deployment of autonomous systems in Ukraine.

This role is ideal for a hands-on engineer who enjoys working across software, hardware, aircraft systems, and flight operations in fast-paced field environments. The position combines autonomy software development, system integration, and real-world flight testing across unmanned and autonomous platforms.

The ideal candidate is comfortable writing and debugging software, integrating autonomy systems onto fixed-wing, multirotor, and other unmanned or autonomous systems, troubleshooting issues in both lab and field environments, and supporting live flight operations under evolving operational conditions.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and contribute production-quality software features and capabilities for autonomous systems
• Design, implement, debug, and maintain software components supporting autonomy, mission execution, system integration, and flight operations
• Integrate autonomy software onto fixed-wing, multirotor, and other unmanned or autonomous systems
• Develop internal tools, automation, telemetry analysis pipelines, and test infrastructure in C++ and Python
• Support software bring-up, system configuration, and mission readiness for flight operations
• Debug and troubleshoot issues across autonomy software, onboard compute, radios, networking, sensors, flight controllers, and mission systems
• Support simulation, SIL, HIL, VIL, ground testing, and live flight test activities
• Support field demonstrations and operational test events, including pre-flight setup, system validation, troubleshooting, and post-flight analysis
• Operate and troubleshoot Ground Control Stations (GCS) and mission support systems
• Capture, analyze, and review flight and system data to support root cause analysis and system improvements
• Work closely with autonomy, systems, hardware, and flight test teams to rapidly integrate and validate new capabilities
• Support rapid software iteration and operational testing in dynamic startup and field environments
• Contribute to operational documentation, test procedures, integration workflows, and deployment readiness activities
• Travel to test sites and support field operations as required

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field, or equivalent practical experience
• 3+ years of experience developing and integrating software for robotics, autonomy, aerospace, embedded systems, or related technical fields
• Strong software engineering experience in C++ and Python, including development, debugging, and system integration
• Experience contributing to complex software systems in robotics, autonomy, aerospace, embedded systems, or related domains
• Experience working with Linux-based systems and development environments
• Hands-on experience integrating and troubleshooting hardware and software systems
• Experience supporting field testing, flight testing, demonstrations, or operational exercises
• Familiarity with MAVLink, PX4, ArduPilot, QGroundControl, or related unmanned systems technologies
• Experience debugging distributed or cross-disciplinary systems involving software, networking, sensors, radios, onboard compute, and mission systems
• Strong sense of ownership and ability to operate independently in fast-paced environments
• Strong problem-solving mindset and willingness to work across disciplines
• Ability to travel within Ukraine as required