Manager of Engineering, Autonomy Capabilities

About the role

Shield AI is a defense-tech company developing autonomy software and aircraft, and its Autonomy Capabilities team builds the core functions behind autonomous decision making for single- and multi-agent platforms. This manager role owns the team's technical delivery, organizational health and growth, and reports to the San Diego office. The team works on small air- or ground-launched platforms, often in disconnected or air-gapped environments, and covers motion planning, tactical behaviors, track fusion, weapons-target assignment and perception-aware decision making.

Key responsibilities

• Manage a team of 5-10 autonomy engineers, covering performance, growth, leveling, engagement and delivery, with regular coaching and technical mentorship.
• Recruit, interview and onboard engineers, partnering with recruiting and maintaining a high hiring bar.
• Lead autonomy capabilities from initial design through integration, validation and field deployment, setting technical priorities and execution plans.
• Define technical approaches and architectures, balancing reuse of existing capabilities with new development.
• Guide development of motion planning, tactical behaviors, multi-agent coordination, track fusion, decision-making and target assignment.
• Stay hands-on: prototype, review critical designs, investigate difficult problems and support delivery milestones.
• Ensure high-performance, well-tested software with clear interfaces, lead design reviews and strengthen testing and integration practices.
• Make technical, staffing and sequencing decisions when requirements are incomplete or priorities shift.
• Collaborate with Perception, Platform Integration, Simulation, Hardware, Flight Test and Program teams, and with U.S. and international defense customers.
• Own validation across software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop and live test environments, using test results to improve capabilities.
• Travel about 10-15% of the year to other offices, customer sites, integration events, flight tests and demonstrations.

Required profile

• BS in Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering, or related field, with 7 years of relevant experience (5 years with a master's, 4 with a PhD, or equivalent).
• Experience leading and developing engineers as a people manager, team lead or feature lead.
• Track record of leading a technical team or capability from design through field delivery.
• Significant experience with robotics or autonomous systems (motion planning, tactical behaviors, controls, multi-agent coordination).
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. SECRET security clearance.

Required skills

• Strong proficiency in C++ for production-quality, real-time robotics or autonomy software.
• Experience with unmanned systems, autonomy simulation environments and software- or hardware-in-the-loop testing.
• Systems-level problem solving, communication and cross-functional collaboration.

Preferred: direct people-management experience, tactical autonomy for defense applications, multi-agent coordination and target assignment, integration onto unmanned platforms and flight tests, and work in disconnected or air-gapped environments.