# Staff Engineer, Aircraft Trajectory Modeling (R5787)

**Company**: Shield AI
**Location**: San Diego, California
**Work arrangement**: onsite
**Experience**: staff
**Job type**: Full Time Employee
**Salary**: USD 200,000-300,000 per-year-salary
**Category**: Engineering
**Industry**: Technology

**Apply**: https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/16e2e233-4fed-463d-bc14-a69af7681737?utm_source=yubhub.co&utm_medium=jobs_feed&utm_campaign=apply
**Canonical**: https://yubhub.co/jobs/job_aa812f38-08c

## Description

Shield AI is seeking a Staff Engineer to help design, develop, and integrate a safety critical Run-Time Assurance (RTA) product. The Hivemind Foundations team is responsible for a suite of core products and capabilities that brings resilient autonomy and intelligence to aircraft and other platforms operating in complex environments.

As a senior member of the Hivemind Foundations team, you will lead applied trajectory prediction and aircraft-response modeling for the RTA. You will work at the boundary between safety logic, vehicle state, and autopilot or flight-control APIs, turning aircraft performance data, command-response assumptions, and test evidence into predictive models that guide safe recovery behavior.

Responsibilities:

- Lead development, tuning, and validation of TPA and recovery-behavior models using aircraft performance data, command-response assumptions, 3DOF/6DOF flyout concepts, wind effects, uncertainty bounds, and maneuver constraints.

- Build Python-based analysis, simulation, HIL, and flight-test workflows to compare predicted versus observed aircraft behavior, identify model gaps, tune parameters, and maintain regression datasets.

- Integrate and evaluate trajectory-prediction behavior through off-the-shelf or custom autopilot interfaces, including command modes, vehicle-state inputs, latency, mode transitions, control limits, and telemetry analysis.

- Support hardware integration and flight-test campaigns across relevant platforms; also help evolve trajectory-prediction and safety behaviors from single-aircraft use cases toward multi-agent collaborative CONOPS. Produce algorithm handoff artifacts and contribute scoped C/C++ implementation, testing, and debugging as needed.

Requirements:

- Typically requires a minimum of 7 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 6 years with a Master’s degree; or 4 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.

- Deep experience in trajectory prediction, aircraft-response modeling, aerospace simulation, robotics, applied autonomy, or GNC-adjacent domains, including 3DOF and/or 6DOF aircraft modeling concepts.

- Expert-level Python skills for algorithm development, numerical analysis, data processing, plotting, tuning workflows, and test automation.

- Working proficiency in C or C++, with the ability to read production code, debug algorithm behavior, write tests, make scoped implementation changes, and guide software engineers through algorithm intent.

- Demonstrated experience interfacing guidance, trajectory, or safety-critical algorithms with off-the-shelf or custom autopilots and validating behavior through simulation, HIL, flight hardware, or flight-test data.

- Ability to document model assumptions, handoff artifacts, and validation evidence while leading technical coordination across algorithms, software, systems, test, and platform teams.

Preferred qualifications:

- Experience tuning trajectory prediction, flyout, or vehicle-response models from simulation, HIL, or flight-test telemetry.

- Experience implementing or porting algorithms from Python, MATLAB/Simulink, or prototype models into C or C++ production software.

- Experience with Monte Carlo testing, scenario-based regression, validation metrics, envelope expansion, test-card planning, or flight-test safety reviews.

- Familiarity with high-reliability or safety-critical development practices, such as static analysis, coding standards, traceability, requirements-based testing, and verification evidence.

- Experience with CMake, Conan, Linux, CI/CD, embedded software workflows, or production software integration.

## Skills

### Required
- Python
- C++
- trajectory prediction
- aircraft-response modeling
- aerospace simulation
- robotics
- applied autonomy
- GNC-adjacent domains
- 3DOF and/or 6DOF aircraft modeling concepts

### Nice to have
- Monte Carlo testing
- scenario-based regression
- validation metrics
- envelope expansion
- test-card planning
- flight-test safety reviews
- high-reliability or safety-critical development practices
- CMake
- Conan
- Linux
- CI/CD
- embedded software workflows
- production software integration

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Source: [Apply at jobs.lever.co](https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/16e2e233-4fed-463d-bc14-a69af7681737?utm_source=yubhub.co&utm_medium=jobs_feed&utm_campaign=apply)