Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software
shieldaiยท Applications Engineering
About this role
The Systems Engineer, Autonomy & Software at Shield AI is responsible for solving complex systems engineering challenges associated with the development, integration, and deployment of advanced autonomous systems for defense applications.
This role sits at the intersection of systems engineering, software engineering, and autonomy. The Systems Engineer works across multidisciplinary engineering teams to translate mission and customer needs into system requirements, architectures, interfaces, and verification strategies while maintaining a deep technical understanding of the software and autonomy capabilities being delivered.
The ideal candidate has a strong background in software and autonomy, is comfortable developing and debugging software in C++ and Python, and has significant experience applying systems engineering principles within complex defense programs. They should be equally comfortable working at the system level and diving into technical implementation when required.
What youโll do
- Apply systems engineering principles to the development and integration of autonomous systems for defense applications.
- Translate operational needs, mission objectives, and customer requirements into clear system, subsystem, software, and autonomy requirements.
- Develop and maintain system architectures, functional decompositions, interface definitions, Interface Control Documents, requirements traceability, and verification strategies.
- Work closely with autonomy, software, guidance, navigation and control, avionics, hardware, test, and platform engineering teams to ensure successful system integration.
- Define and manage interfaces between Hivemind Autonomy, vehicle systems, mission systems, sensors, communications, payloads, and external systems.
- Maintain a strong understanding of the underlying autonomy and software architecture, including how system level requirements translate into software behavior and implementation.
- Develop software, prototypes, analysis tools, test infrastructure, and engineering utilities using C++ and Python when required to solve integration and system level engineering problems.
- Use code, simulation, logs, telemetry, and other engineering data to investigate system behavior, diagnose failures, validate assumptions, and support technical decision making.
- Lead and support system integration activities across simulation, software in the loop, hardware in the loop, ground test, and flight test environments.
Required Qualifications
- BS or MS in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical discipline.
- 5+ years of experience developing, integrating, or delivering complex software intensive systems, preferably within aerospace, defense, robotics, or autonomous systems.
- Strong software engineering background with hands on experience developing and debugging software in C++ and Python.
- Experience with autonomous or robotic systems, including familiarity with areas such as perception, planning, estimation, guidance, navigation, controls, or mission autonomy.
- Strong understanding of systems engineering principles and their application to complex defense systems.
- Experience developing and managing system and subsystem requirements, including requirements decomposition, allocation, traceability, and verification.
- Experience developing system architectures, functional architectures, interface definitions, Interface Control Documents, and other system level engineering artifacts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the salary disclosed for the Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software position at shieldai?
The salary for this Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software role at shieldai is not publicly listed. Click "Apply Now" to learn more about the compensation package on their official careers page.
Where is the Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software position at shieldai located?
This Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software role at shieldai is based in London. The position is listed as on-site or hybrid. Check the full job description or apply directly to confirm the work arrangement.
Is the Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software role at shieldai full-time or part-time?
This is listed as a International Office Entity position. It is posted as a Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software role in the Applications Engineering department at shieldai.
Which team or department does the Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software at shieldai belong to?
This Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software position is part of the Applications Engineering department at shieldai. See the full job description for more information about the team structure and responsibilities.
How do I apply for the Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software position at shieldai?
Click the "Apply Now" button on this page. You will be redirected to shieldai's official application portal hosted on lever where you can submit your application directly.
When was the Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software job at shieldai posted?
This Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software position at shieldai was posted on Sep 9, 2026. Apply as soon as possible โ early applications are often reviewed first.
Senior Systems Engineer - Autonomy & Software
shieldai
You'll be redirected to shieldai's official application page on Lever.