Software Engineering Manager – Hardware Test (X-BAT)

About the role

Shield AI is seeking a Software Engineering Manager to lead the X‑BAT Hardware Test Software team in Seattle. You will oversee the development and sustainment of automated production test stands that validate avionics and aircraft electrical assemblies for autonomous aircraft.

Key responsibilities

• Lead, mentor and grow a team of software engineers delivering test frameworks, station‑control software and data‑collection systems.
• Own the technical roadmap for automated test stands, reusable frameworks, CI/CD pipelines and release processes.
• Design and implement scalable Python‑based software for test sequencing, instrument control, unit‑under‑test communication and pass/fail evaluation.
• Collaborate with electrical, mechanical and FPGA engineers to translate hardware interfaces and failure modes into comprehensive automated test coverage.
• Establish metrics for station reliability, first‑pass yield, regression health and traceability, and drive continuous improvement.

Required profile

• 5+ years of software engineering experience in test automation, embedded systems or hardware‑integrated software.
• 2+ years of people‑management experience leading software or test engineers.
• Proven track record building and sustaining automated functional‑test systems for complex hardware.
• Strong background working directly with electrical hardware, test fixtures and instrumentation.

Required skills

• Python for automation, hardware communication and data acquisition.
• C and C++ for embedded and device‑control applications.
• FPGA development and debugging, including JTAG and register‑level control.
• Experience with Ethernet, TCP/IP, UDP, Serial, CAN, SPI, I2C, USB, GPIO, PCIe interfaces.
• Git, code review, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, release management and configuration control.