# Senior Staff Engineer, Autonomy - Tactical Behaviors

**Company**: Shield AI
**Location**: Washington, DC / Boston, MA / San Diego, California
**Work arrangement**: onsite
**Experience**: senior
**Job type**: full-time
**Salary**: $220,800 - $331,200 a year
**Category**: Engineering
**Industry**: Technology

**Apply**: https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/d345caad-82d3-4d53-ba5f-c93882547f09
**Canonical**: https://yubhub.co/jobs/job_21dd4155-13b

## Description

This role is perfect for an individual who enjoys solving complex problems across diverse domains and modalities. As a Senior Staff Engineer, Autonomy - Tactical Behaviors, you will design tactical autonomy algorithms to enable unmanned aircraft to perform complex missions across air, land, and sea domains with minimal human supervision.

Key responsibilities include:

* Designing tactical autonomy algorithms to enable unmanned aircraft to perform complex missions
* Developing high-performance software modules that incorporate planning, decision-making, and behavior execution strategies
* Implementing and testing behavior architectures that enable multi-agent coordination, target engagement, reconnaissance, and survivability in contested scenarios
* Working at the intersection of classical autonomy and machine learning, blending rule-based systems with learning-based methods such as reinforcement learning to achieve robust, adaptive behavior
* Collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration of autonomy solutions on real-world platforms
* Deploying autonomy capabilities to real platforms and participating in field tests and flight demos, validating performance in operationally relevant conditions
* Analyzing mission logs and performance data to diagnose failures, optimize behavior models, and inform iterative development
* Contributing to the autonomy roadmap by researching and prototyping new algorithms, identifying tactical capability gaps, and proposing novel solutions that advance Shield AI's mission

Requirements include:

* 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 (specifically air domain)
* 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
* Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance

Preferred qualifications include experience applying ML/RL techniques in autonomy pipelines, background in collaborative behaviors, swarm robotics, or distributed decision-making, familiarity with tactical behaviors for unmanned systems in DoD or government programs, and hands-on experience supporting flight demos or live exercises.

## Skills

### Required
- C++
- Python
- Real-time operating systems (RTOS)
- Motion planning
- Behavior modeling
- Decision-making
- Autonomous system design
- Unmanned system technologies
- Simulation tools and environments
- Problem-solving
- Communication
- Teamwork

### Nice to have
- Machine learning (ML)
- Reinforcement learning (RL)
- Collaborative behaviors
- Swarm robotics
- Distributed decision-making
- Tactical behaviors for unmanned systems