Introduction to Shield AI
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company whose mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. In pursuit of this mission, Shield AI is building the world’s best AI pilot. Its AI pilot, Hivemind, has flown a fighter jet (F-16), a vertical takeoff and landing drone (V-BAT), and a quadcopter (Nova). The company has offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington DC and abroad. Shield AI’s products and people are currently in the field actively supporting operations with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. allies.
As a senior leader in the Hivemind autonomy organization, you will contribute to an ambitious mission to design, develop, integrate, test, and deploy the world’s best AI Pilot—capable of executing any mission on any platform. Your expertise in one or more core perception technologies, such as state estimation, object detection, classification, tracking, and sensor fusion, will be instrumental in driving this mission forward.
As a people manager, you will lead a high-performing team of multi-skilled autonomy developers, where you’ll:
-Collaborate closely with the product team to clarify and prioritize product requirements.
-Provide clear guidance on scope of work and set achievable goals for the development team.
-Optimize capacity allocation based on business needs to maximize team efficiency and impact.
-Establish a commitment-driven environment where the team can reliably deliver features that exceed customer expectations for the Hivemind product.
In your role, you’ll also play a critical part in building organizational talent by partnering with talent acquisition throughout the hiring process (recruiting, resume screening, interviews, onboarding) and nurturing a culture of excellence by setting clear job expectations, engaging in performance reviews, and fostering continuous feedback. With a servant leadership mindset, you’ll support team members’ growth in skill development, career advancement, promotion planning, and employee recognition.
WHAT YOU'LL DO:
- Manage a team of 5 to 7 autonomy developers, splitting your time equally between leadership and hands-on development.
- Develop production-quality autonomy software in C++ for deployment on military platforms, ensuring code robustness, efficiency, and scalability.
- Provide technical leadership in the design and architecture of key perception framework components.
- Drive product roadmap execution by leading feature decomposition, capacity planning, and agile development processes.
- Balance rigor and speed in a fast-paced, collaborative, and continuous development environment.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 9 years and a Master’s degree; or 7 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.
- Proven experience as a people manager overseeing a team of C++ developers.
- High proficiency in modern C++ and design patterns with a strong record in a core perception discipline (e.g., state estimation, sensor fusion, object tracking, SLAM) or another autonomy field.
- Experience across the full lifecycle of perception software development, testing, and deployment to edge computing environments.
- Familiarity with CI pipelines and automated testing frameworks for C++.
- Strong proficiency with Linux operating systems.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Previous experience delivering autonomy software (C++) to DoD customers.
- Familiarity with navigational sensors (IMU, GPS, barometers, magnetometers).
- Experience with GPS-denied navigation technologies.
- Understanding of EO/IR sensors and object detection algorithms.
- Professional experience deploying state estimation algorithms (KF, EKF, UKF).
#LE
Total package details for U.S. based positions:
- Regular employee positions: Salary within range listed above + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
- Temporary employee positions: Hourly within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days
of employment)
- Interns/Military Fellows/Part-time not eligible for bonus, benefits or equity
Total package details for International based positions (where applicable):
- International premium, hardship differential, cost of living differential, living quarters allowance, foreign service transfer
allowance, equity, international benefits, visa assistance, and relocation assistance.
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.
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.
