Senior Staff Engineer, Autonomy Integration Lead (R6159)
About this role
This role is focused on ensuring the stability and functionality of complex autonomy integrations within Shield AI's defense technology products. The team builds and maintains the core integration environment, which involves developing reusable test fixtures, reference configurations, and end-to-end examples for the autonomy software stack. This position is crucial for bridging the gap between mission autonomy software and the underlying platform software, ensuring seamless integration and deployment across various systems.
The Senior Staff Engineer will be responsible for developing and maintaining automated testing infrastructure, including software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop tests that validate behavior across different autonomy components. A key function involves investigating system-wide failures, isolating the source of issues, and providing clear evidence when infrastructure changes are necessary. Furthermore, this role supports the deployment of the integrated autonomy stack to hardware, troubleshooting telemetry and interface issues in lab or field environments.
Candidates who thrive in environments requiring deep systems-level debugging and the ability to create robust integration tooling will succeed here. This role is ideal for an engineer who enjoys tackling complex integration challenges and creating the foundational documentation necessary for operational readiness.
What you will do
- Build and maintain stable Pilot integrated implementations, reference configurations, and reusable test fixtures.
- Partner with component teams to enhance the shared integration environment and maintain the integration baseline.
- Develop and maintain automated software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop tests to exercise autonomy component behavior.
- Develop and maintain the glue layer connecting mission autonomy software and platform software for simplified integration and deployment.
- Investigate failures across system boundaries, reproducing problems and isolating the responsible layer to fix integration defects.
- Support the deployment of the integrated autonomy stack to representative hardware, including configuration and troubleshooting.
- Collaborate with the Flight Operations team to define test objectives and analyze integration failures.
What you need
- A Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, or equivalent practical experience is required.
- Demonstrated experience is necessary in building, testing, and debugging non-trivial C++ software for perception, planning, robotics, or related algorithmic domains.
- Proficiency in writing and debugging modern C++, including safe use of common concurrency patterns and diagnosing issues like data races and deadlocks.
- Working experience with Python is required for prototyping, analysis, automation, or testing purposes.
- Strong software engineering fundamentals, encompassing algorithms, data structures, testing, debugging, and maintainable software design.
- Practical experience developing and debugging software on Linux environments is essential.
- Familiarity with build/dependency management systems such as Conan or Nix is preferred.
Nice to have
- Master’s degree in AI, Computer Science, or Robotics
- Breadth of experience across the autonomy stack (Perception, Localization and Planning)
- Experience with multi-agent autonomy
- Experience applying VLMs or VLAs to planning, reasoning, or autonomous decision-making
- Experience delivering software for fielded, real-time, safety-critical, or resource-constrained autonomous systems
- Experience with software-in-the-loop or hardware-in-the-loop simulation, performance profiling, or distributed systems
Benefits
- Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the remote policy for this role?
The posting does not explicitly state a remote work policy for this position.
What is the compensation structure?
Compensation is within a range listed, and includes a bonus, benefits, and equity. Salary compensation is influenced by factors like skill set, level of experience, and location.
What is the primary technology stack used?
The core technologies involve C++ for development, Python for prototyping and analysis, and build/dependency management systems such as Conan or Nix.
What is the team structure like?
The role involves partnering with component teams and working closely with the Flight Operations team to define test objectives.