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Senior Staff Engineer, Autonomous Systems Integration (R5507)

Shield AISan Diego, CaliforniaApplications Engineering
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Salary
$170K - $250K USD
Job type
Full Time Employee
Posted
4 Aug 2026
Status
Open · checked 9d ago

About this role

Role Overview

Defense is hiring a full-time Senior Staff Engineer for Autonomous Systems Integration based in San Diego, California. This position suits an experienced technical leader who can design, integrate, and operate intelligent unmanned systems and software.

Key Responsibilities

Act as a trusted systems-integration authority for Hivemind test and demonstration hardware.
Help teams select and prepare representative platforms while understanding integration tradeoffs.
Improve test readiness and diagnose complex, cross-disciplinary technical issues.
Translate valuable lessons learned from real hardware into enhanced engineering, test, and operational practices.
Move comfortably between high-level architecture discussions, benchtop integration, lab troubleshooting, and field execution.
Provide clear platform evaluation recommendations to engineering, test, product, and operations leaders.

Requirements

Strong technical leadership capability with a proven background as both a builder and an operator.
Experience working at the intersection of autonomy software, robotic systems, onboard compute, networking, and radios.
Familiarity with sensors, flight controllers, simulation tools, and test operations.
Strong judgment, calm execution under pressure, and the ability to bring structure to ambiguous technical environments without overfitting.

Skills and Tools

Hivemind autonomy software
Unmanned aircraft and robotic systems
Onboard compute, networking, and radios
Sensors and flight controllers
Simulation and test operations

Salary and Benefits

Annual salary range between USD 170,000 and 250,000.
Offered as a full-time employee position.

About the Company

Defense is a venture-backed defense technology organization with a core mission to protect service members and civilians through intelligent systems. The company develops advanced technologies such as Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality solutions. With multiple offices and operational facilities located across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, the organization supports customers worldwide.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should visit the official company careers page to submit an application for this position.

Questions candidates ask

What is the location of the Senior Staff Engineer role?

The position is based in San Diego, California.

Is this a remote position?

No, this is not a remote role; it is based out of the San Diego office location.

What is the salary range for this position?

The annual salary ranges from USD 170,000 to 250,000.

What department does this role belong to?

This role belongs to the Applications Engineering department.

How can I apply for this job?

You can apply by visiting the official company careers page.

Ready to apply?

The application is on the official Shield AI careers page.

Apply on company site