Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Job Description:
Shield AI is seeking a Senior Staff Engineer, Weapons Integration to own the technical architecture, development, and integration of weapons mission critical subsystems for an advanced autonomous aircraft. This engineer will serve as a technical authority across mission computing, avionics, payloads, communications, and associated support systems, translating operational needs into robust, integrated, and verifiable system designs.
In this role, the engineer will define mission system architectures, lead requirements development and allocation, establish performance budgets and interface definitions, and drive complex technical trade studies across hardware, software, and aircraft systems. They will guide technical execution from concept through integration, verification, flight test, and fielding, ensuring that subsystem capabilities collectively satisfy mission performance, safety, airworthiness, and applicable compliance requirements.
What you'll do:
- Own architecture, requirements development and allocation, and integration strategy across data storage, weapons, payloads, avionics, and supporting aircraft systems. Establish performance budgets, interface definitions, and verification criteria that align subsystem designs with vehicle level objectives.
- Serve as a technical authority for weapons integration, leading complex trade studies and system of systems analyses to balance performance, latency, bandwidth, storage capacity, reliability, power, cost, and schedule. Resolve architectural conflicts and guide consequential hardware and software decisions.
- Define and guide integration and verification campaigns from laboratory and hardware in the loop testing through flight test and fielding. Partner with safety, airworthiness, and certification teams to establish compliance approaches addressing applicable MIL Standards and objectives, and drive resolution of critical anomalies and performance gaps.
- Lead multidisciplinary technical reviews and readiness assessments, aligning engineering teams, program leadership, customers, and partners on architecture decisions, technical maturity, integration risks, and mitigation plans. Mentor engineers and establish consistent practices for requirements quality, interface management, configuration control, and verification.
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline, with 10 or more years of relevant aerospace or defense experience, including at least 5 years developing and integrating weapons or complex aircraft mission systems.
- Demonstrated technical ownership of mission system architectures spanning mission computing, data storage, avionics, payloads, and communications, including line of sight and beyond line of sight systems. Experience translating operational needs into requirements, performance budgets, interface definitions, and hardware and software specifications.
- Strong knowledge of systems engineering and product development practices, including requirements decomposition, architecture trade studies, interface management, configuration control, technical risk management, and verification and validation. Experience applying Modular Open Systems Approach principles and relevant frameworks such as Open Mission Systems, Government Reference Architectures, or modular avionics standards.
- Demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary technical teams and supplier engineering activities from architecture definition through integration, test, and fielding. Experience guiding design reviews, resolving complex integration issues, assessing technical maturity, and supporting safety and airworthiness compliance activities involving applicable DO 178C and DO 254 objectives.
- Strong technical communication and influencing skills, with experience presenting architecture decisions, performance evidence, technical risks, and recommendations to engineering leaders, executives, and customers. Active U.S. Secret security clearance and the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret clearance.
Preferred qualifications:
- Master’s or PhD in Aerospace, Systems, or Electrical Engineering
- Hands-on experience with flight test operations and mission system validation
- Direct experience integrating advanced sensors, autonomy, AI-enabled payloads, or guided weapons
- Background in model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and SysML tools
- Strong knowledge of current aircraft mission systems vendors and capabilities
- Active DoD Top Secret clearance
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Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
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Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.
