Senior Staff Engineer – Systems Integration

About the role

Shield AI, a venture‑backed defense‑tech company, is seeking a senior engineer to lead systems integration efforts across simulation environments, third‑party hardware, and real‑time tools. The role focuses on building robust, cross‑language software and improving CI/CD pipelines for complex, distributed systems.

Key responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain C++ and Python software for cross‑platform systems.
• Contribute to system architecture emphasizing performance, maintainability, and integration.
• Develop and support APIs and messaging interfaces such as gRPC, REST, and ZeroMQ.
• Integrate third‑party software and hardware, including real‑time and simulation tools.
• Debug distributed systems with attention to threading, timing, and data flow.
• Apply modern agile practices: test‑driven development, continuous integration, automated testing.
• Improve CI/CD workflows using GitLab CI, Docker, CMake, and Conan.
• Collaborate across teams to share solutions and promote good software practices.

Required profile

• Minimum 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent combinations).
• Active SECRET clearance.
• Strong proficiency in modern C++ (C++14/17/20) and ability to work with legacy C++98/03 codebases.
• Professional experience in Linux/Unix environments; Windows experience is a bonus.

Required skills

• C++ (modern and legacy)
• Python
• Linux/Unix system development and debugging
• gRPC, REST, ZeroMQ messaging
• Docker containerization
• CMake, Conan build tools
• GitLab CI/CD pipelines
• Test‑driven development and automated testing
• Real‑time systems, threading, timing, data flow
• Simulation integration (e.g., AFSIM, NGTS) and avionics standards (UCI, OMS)