Chief Engineer, Autonomy (R4614)

About the role

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company whose products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. The Chief Engineer is the chief authority on system architecture, design, development, risk mitigation and product quality, ensuring the integration of Hivemind Autonomy across aircraft from small UAS to large autonomous collaborative platforms. The role sits within the Hivemind Solutions organization and leads a team of engineers delivering autonomous capabilities for business-to-business and defense contracts.

Key responsibilities

• Serve as Chief Engineer on projects developing and deploying autonomy solutions for unmanned aircraft.
• Lead a team responsible for advancing Hivemind Autonomy and shaping Department of Defense autonomy architectures.
• Define and assign technical objectives, make key engineering decisions and ensure the quality and completeness of technical deliverables.
• Provide technical leadership and oversight across Internal Research and Development (IRAD) initiatives and DoD contracts.

Required profile

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering or similar.
• 10+ years of industry experience in autonomy and/or UAS platforms (e.g. defense tech, self-driving cars).
• 7+ years delivering software into production or certifiable environments with high reliability.
• Defense industry experience as a Chief Engineer and a track record leading technical teams to develop and deploy autonomous systems.
• Leadership of a team of 6-20 engineers, customer-facing, supporting defense and internally funded programs, including contribution to government contract proposals.

Required skills

• Guidance, control and navigation (GNC) understanding (controls, estimation, planning)
• Robotics stack understanding (controls, estimation, perception, planning)
• Software development processes and deployment
• Defining technical scope, managing technical requirements, product architectures, ICDs and system-level design documentation
• Scientific technical problem-solving approach and excellent written and verbal communication