Senior Engineer, Systems Test (R5038)

About the role

Shield AI, a defense-tech company developing autonomy software and aircraft, is hiring a Senior Test Engineer focused on software and simulation for its Hivemind Solutions Test Department in Washington, DC. The role leads simulation-driven testing, automation and software quality, building and running test frameworks that validate the reliability, safety and performance of autonomy software in simulated and real-world mission environments.

Key responsibilities

• Develop automated regression, integration and system-level tests to ensure software quality and stability across releases
• Identify, reproduce and diagnose software issues, working with development teams to drive fixes
• Create and run test plans and documentation for autonomy software in simulated environments, meeting mission and safety requirements
• Design, implement and maintain simulation-based test frameworks for autonomy behavior and performance
• Build Python tools to automate testing, data processing and analysis workflows
• Develop test harnesses and data validation tools for SIL, HIL and VIL environments
• Help define testing methodologies, metrics and performance benchmarks
• Support the scaling and reliability of simulation infrastructure and maintain detailed test documentation
• Integrate test coverage into the CI/CD pipeline with developers

Required profile

• Typically 3-5 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree, or 2-4 years with a Master's, or 2 years with a PhD, or equivalent experience
• Ability to obtain and maintain a SECRET clearance; US citizenship is required
• Experience in robotics, small UAS or related hands-on engineering projects
• Strong analytical, problem-solving and debugging skills
• Willingness to learn quickly in a fast-paced environment and to work with cross-functional software, hardware and mechanical teams

Required skills

• Proficiency in Python
• Preferred: experience testing autonomous systems, robotics software or flight autonomy algorithms
• Preferred: familiarity with C++, HIL/VIL environments, machine learning/AI-driven autonomy, simulation infrastructure, QA and aerospace/defense software