# Senior Manager, Perception

**Company:** [Shield AI](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/shield-ai)
**Location:** Washington, DC, San Diego, CA, Boston, MA, Dallas, TX
**Role:** Engineering Management
**Salary:** $229k – $344k/yr
**Experience:** 10+ years
**Skills:** C++, sensor fusion, state estimation, kalman filter, factor graphs, Computer Vision, opencv, probabilistic robotics, signal processing, object detection, unix, a-pnt
**Posted:** 2025-08-01

> Lead a technical team developing production perception, state estimation, and sensor fusion algorithms in C++ for autonomous aerospace and defense systems. Requires 10+ years experience, 2+ years managing teams, strong theoretical foundations, and DoD sensor integration background.

## Job Description

## What you'll do
- Lead teams across autonomy, integration, and testing by aligning technical efforts, resolving cross-functional challenges, and driving mission-focused execution. Balance hands-on technical oversight with performance optimization, innovation, and clear stakeholder communication.
- Write production quality software in C++.
- Produce an Assured Position, Navigation, and Timing (A-PNT) system to enable reliable autonomy in GNSS-degraded or denied environments.
- Extend and specialize Shield AI’s state-of-the-art state estimation framework for new sensors, platforms, and missions.
- Write test code to validate your software with simulated and real-world data.
- Collaborate with hardware and test teams to validate algorithms/code on aerial platforms.
- Write analyzers to ingest data and produce statistics to validate code quality.
- Enhance sensor models within a high-fidelity simulation environment.
- Work in a fast-paced, collaborative, continuous development environment, enhancing analysis and benchmarking capabilities.

## Required qualifications
- BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and/or similar degree, or equivalent practical experience.
- Ability to develop, benchmark, debug, and deploy software-based algorithms.
- Demonstrated problem solving skills by applying a scientific approach.
- Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 9 years and a Master’s degree; or 8 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.
- 2+ years managing technical teams.
- Demonstrated experience integrating and working with sensor payloads in the DoD space.
- Proficient with sensor fusion for noisy high-bandwidth exteroceptive sensors on compute-constrained systems.
- A solid foundation in theory related to state estimation, object detection, data association, probabilistic robotics, and signal processing.
- Experience working projects with 10+ contributors.
- Offers Fast, efficient, effective problem solving approaches.
- Exceptional collaborator and communicator.
- Comfortability within Unix environments.
- Hard-working, trustworthy teammate.
- Exhibits holding themselves and others to high standards.
- Being kind to others.
- Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.

## Preferred qualifications
- MS or greater in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and/or similar degree, or equivalent practical experience.
- Understanding of robotics technologies related to autonomous behavior development e.g. task allocation or planning.
- Understanding/Experience with unmanned system technologies and accompanying algorithms (specifically air domain).
- Familiarity with high-fidelity simulation and sensor modeling.
- Working knowledge of Kalman Filter, Factor Graphs and other modern estimator fundamentals.
- Strong working knowledge of Computer Vision with hands-on experience with OpenCV or similar CV libraries.
- Experience developing sensor effects (control) algorithms.
- Hands-on experience developing or implementing state of the art object detection/recognition pipelines.
- Active SECRET clearance.
- Experience with UCI and OMS Standards.

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