Skip to content
Shield AIShield AIWashington, DC

Senior Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration

Develop and integrate autonomy software for emerging platforms in space, maritime, and contested logistics. Integrate existing capabilities, develop new mission behaviors and controls, own end-to-end testing from simulation to live exercises, and support field operations (10-20% travel). Requires 5+ years experience with C++ and embedded/real-time systems integration.

163k – 245k/yr
On-site5+ YOEML Engineering

About the role

What You'll Do

  • Stand Up New Capabilities – Help establish autonomy on new platforms and mission areas by integrating existing Shield AI capabilities with platform-specific software and developing new autonomy where needed.
  • Develop & Field Autonomy – Develop and integrate autonomy software onto emerging-domain platforms, including platform and autopilot integration, payload and sensor integration, mission behaviors, multi-agent coordination, and validation through software-, hardware-, vehicle-, and live testing.
  • Platform Team Partnerships – Partner closely with platform teams to integrate autonomy capabilities, validate interfaces, coordinate hardware/software compatibility, and support mission readiness.
  • Collaboration Across Teams & Partners – Work with the Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, GCS teams, feature crews, and customer/program offices to deliver integrated autonomy solutions.
  • Design & Documentation – Contribute to design reviews, ICDs, integration planning, and post-mortems while improving engineering rigor across teams.
  • Pre-deployment Preparation – Build, configure, validate, and prepare mission-ready systems while coordinating release readiness with platform and capability teams.
  • On-site Test & Mission Support – Support flight tests, maritime trials, ground testing, customer demonstrations, and operational exercises through system bring-up, troubleshooting, and mission execution.
  • Hardware/Software Debugging – Diagnose and resolve integration issues across autonomy software, payload computers, embedded systems, and platform interfaces.
  • Mission Data & Debrief Support – Capture mission data, reproduce issues in simulation, and partner with capability owners to rapidly improve future releases.
  • Continuous Improvement – Develop tools and engineering processes that improve integration velocity, testing reliability, and mission readiness.
  • C2 Interoperability & Standards – Implement and validate interfaces with command-and-control systems while supporting program-appropriate interoperability standards.

Required Qualifications

  • BS/MS in a relevant engineering discipline or equivalent practical experience.
  • Typically requires 5+ years of relevant experience.
  • Strong proficiency in C++ and Linux-based development.
  • Experience integrating embedded or real-time software systems.
  • Experience supporting integration, testing, or operational field events.
  • Strong systems-level problem-solving skills.
  • Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Experience with autonomous aircraft, maritime systems, spacecraft, or robotics.
  • Experience with autonomy software, autopilot integration, or robotics frameworks.
  • Python, Docker, or CI/CD experience.
  • Experience working in early-stage R&D or rapid prototyping environments.
  • Experience supporting DoD customers or field demonstrations.

Skills

C++LinuxEmbedded SystemsReal-Time SystemsPythonDockerCI/CDautonomy softwareautopilot integrationrobotics frameworks

Similar roles

ML Engineering jobs
Shield AI

Senior Software Engineer, Perception

Shield AIWashington, DC +3

Develop and deploy advanced vision, VLM, and VLA machine learning models for autonomous systems perception. Own models from training through optimization and deployment on embedded hardware, collaborating with research and engineering teams to deliver production capabilities for complex real-world environments.

163k – 245k/yr
On-site5+ YOEML Engineering
Semgrep

Senior AI Software Engineer

SemgrepSan Francisco, CA +3

Develops AI-powered solutions using LLMs to improve code security vulnerability detection, prioritization, and remediation. Collaborates with customers, implements end-to-end features, and evaluates models through experimentation on real-world data.

163k – 247k/yr
HybridML Engineering
Lyft

Senior ML Software Engineer, Mapping

LyftSan Francisco, CA

As a Senior ML Software Engineer on the Mapping team, you will develop and launch machine learning models to detect environmental changes and update Lyft's digital map. This role involves end-to-end ML solution development, data analysis, and production-quality coding.

163k – 204k/yr
Hybrid5+ YOEML Engineering
Lyft

Senior ML Software Engineer, Recommendations

LyftSan Francisco, CA

Develops and launches machine learning algorithms powering Lyft's recommendation systems and core services, partnering with cross-functional teams to solve diverse problems in transportation and personalization. Requires 5+ years ML experience, Python/Golang proficiency, and advanced ML methodologies.

163k – 204k/yr
Hybrid5+ YOEML Engineering
ZoomInfo

Senior Machine Learning Engineer

ZoomInfoUnited States

Build and productionize large-scale recommendation systems, NLP/embedding models, and agentic AI workflows. Requires 6+ years ML/NLP experience and expertise in PyTorch/TensorFlow, RAG, and vector search.

165k – 259k/yr
Remote6+ YOEML Engineering