# Senior Engineer, Human Machine Teaming

**Company:** [Shield AI](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/shield-ai)
**Location:** Washington, DC
**Role:** AI Research
**Salary:** $140k – $210k/yr
**Experience:** 5+ years
**Skills:** Human-Machine Teaming, Human Factors, Ethnographic Research, Cognitive Task Analysis, Knowledge Elicitation, Needs Analysis, Human Performance, Training Theory, Mission Planning, Battle Management, Uav Operations, Ground Control Stations, Human-Machine Interfaces, Modeling And Simulation, Ai Assurance
**Posted:** 2026-08-21

> Conduct field research and human factors analysis with pilots, operators, and customers to shape collaborative work requirements, mission autonomy design, training, and readiness assessments. The role requires human-machine teaming expertise, operational research experience, and comfort working in field and test environments.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Plan and conduct field research using ethnographic methods, observation, knowledge elicitation, and cognitive task analysis with customers, operators, and pilots.
- Conduct front-end human factors analyses to decompose collaborative work in real operations.
- Produce mission threads, baseline use cases, and context-sensitive variants to drive design and experimentation.
- Translate operator needs into collaborative work requirement profiles with HMT staff.
- Support operational and readiness assessments, including field testing under real tempo, degraded communications, and off-nominal events.
- Provide embedded human-machine teaming support within major product lines.
- Support after-action reviews and debriefs, feeding lessons learned into requirements, risk assessments, HMI design, and training.
- Manage operator and subject matter expert engagement from scheduling and consent through data handling and participant feedback.
- Contribute to adoption playbooks and training content; prepare trip reports and product recommendation briefings.
- Travel to company, test, demonstration, and customer locations, approximately 40%.

## Requirements
- Senior Engineer qualifications generally include 3–5 years of related experience with a bachelor's degree, 2–4 years with a master's degree, 2 years with a PhD, or equivalent experience.
- Degree in human factors engineering, psychology, cognitive systems engineering, applied cognitive science, industrial and systems engineering, a related field, or equivalent operational experience.
- Experience planning and executing field studies or operational assessments with human participants and reporting findings to engineering and operator/customer audiences.
- Working knowledge of human-machine teaming, human factors, human performance, training theory and measurement, cognitive task analysis, knowledge elicitation, and needs analysis.
- Ability to work in operational environments such as flight lines, ranges, exercises, and customer sites without disrupting missions.
- Experience in multidisciplinary settings and complex, ambiguous problem spaces.
- Strong teamwork, collaboration, written communication, and verbal communication skills.
- U.S. citizenship required; eligible for a U.S. DoD Secret clearance and able to obtain and maintain Top Secret, SCI, and/or SAP-level access.

## Nice-to-haves
- Operational background as aircrew, UAV operator, mission commander, or in intelligence or C2/battle management.
- Experience with human-machine teaming, MUM-T, human-robot interaction, applied artificial intelligence, and mission autonomy applications involving UAV Groups 1–5.
- Experience with mission planning, C2, battle management, UAV or pilot training, doctrine, ground control stations, or HMIs.
- Experience with scenario design, modeling, and simulation tools and methods.
- Experience with immersive simulation exercises, developmental or operational test and evaluation, or readiness assessments with fielded systems.
- Experience conducting after-action reviews and generating lessons learned or plans of action and milestones in customer-facing or forward-deployed roles.
- Experience designing or delivering UAV operator or pilot crew operational training.
- Familiarity with traceability methods or AI assurance frameworks.
- Willingness to use agentic AI to accelerate product development.

## Compensation
- Annual salary: $140,000–$210,000.

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