Staff Engineer, State Estimation (R5783)

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems.

Help build the intelligence that enables autonomous systems to navigate the world with confidence. In this role, you’ll develop cutting-edge estimation and navigation technology, transforming advanced algorithms into high-performance software that powers resilient autonomy in complex, real-world environments.

Responsibilities

• Research and develop state-of-the-art state estimation and navigation algorithms to enable resilient autonomy in challenging GPS-denied environments.
• Design and deploy production-grade C++ software for embedded robotic systems operating in dynamic, real-world environments.
• Build and maintain rigorous unit, integration, and system-level tests to ensure system robustness and safety.
• Develop and enhance modeling, calibration, and simulation tools for inertial and vision-based navigation systems.
• Contribute to roadmap planning, feature decomposition, and agile execution alongside a multidisciplinary team of autonomy engineers.
• Continuously enhance performance analysis, benchmarking, and validation pipelines to drive rapid innovation and improvement.

Required Qualifications

• M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field; minimum 2+ years of related professional work experience if you have an M.S. degree, or 0 years if you are a new Ph.D. graduate.
• Professional proficiency in modern C++ (C++11 or newer) and strong object-oriented design skills.
• Hands-on experience deploying low-latency C++ applications to embedded Linux platforms.
• Professional experience designing and implementing state estimation algorithms (e.g., EKF, UKF, Particle Filters, graph-based optimization).
• Familiarity with VIO, SLAM, or multi-sensor fusion frameworks (e.g., GTSAM, Ceres, OpenVINS).
• Strong working knowledge of CI pipelines and automated testing frameworks for C++.
• Ability to independently deploy high-reliability code suitable for real-world autonomous systems.
• Familiarity with prototyping in Python or MATLAB is welcome, but this role demands professional C++ production deployment skills. Candidates whose primary experience is in MATLAB or Python are unlikely to find this position a good fit.

Preferred Qualifications

• Deep understanding of graph-based optimization for state estimation.
• Experience developing vision-aided inertial navigation systems (VINS, VIO, Terrain Relative Navigation).
• Experience with navigation sensor calibration (IMU, GPS, barometers, magnetometers, laser altimeters, cameras).
• Experience in benchmarking and system validation for real-world navigation performance.

Additional Information

The salary for this position ranges from USD 200,000 to 300,000 per year. The offer package includes a bonus, benefits, and equity.