TRECQ

Senior Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration (R5200)

EngineeringSenioronsiteWashington, D.C.
Full Time EmployeePosted Jun 8, 2026

About this role

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. 

The Autonomous Pilot Integration team builds autonomy solutions for a wide range of CONOPs and mission sets. We combine capabilities from the Autonomy Capabilities team (motion planning, tactics), the Perception team (e.g., track fusion), and the HivemindSDK to develop the autonomy software that runs on an unmanned platform — air, maritime, space, or effects/expendables, depending on the program — then integrate, validate, and field it on the real hardware. In this role, you'll write new autonomy code — such as mission behaviors, platform-specific control, multi-agent coordination, contingencies, and executive autonomy — and own it end-to-end from software-in-the-loop, to hardware-in-the-loop, to vehicle-in-the-loop, to live test exercise. You'll partner closely with the Autonomy Capabilities and Perception teams, feature crews, and external platform integrators (vehicle/autopilot control vendors, C2 providers). It's a hands-on role for engineers who like seeing their code operate in the real world — whether that's flying, sailing, orbiting, or downrange — and want to be there when it does. 

Shield AI is committed to developing cutting-edge autonomy for unmanned platforms across every operating domain — air, maritime, space, and effects/expendables — in service of the U.S. Department of Defense and our international defense customers. Our Autonomous Pilot Integration engineers bridge the gap between R&D and deployment, ensuring autonomous systems function reliably and effectively wherever and whenever they're needed most. 

About Shieldai

Growth1,940 employees

Interested?

Find the right person, then reach out. Trying more than one channel only helps your odds.

1
Find who to reach
Pick the person worth a direct note. Reveal a real email (one credit) or find a likely one.
New accounts start with 3 free reveals.
2
Reach out
Pick someone above, then draft an email or a LinkedIn note to them.
3
Or apply on their site
The front-door route, plus TRECQ drafts your application answers to paste.
Apply on Shieldai ↗
TRECQ writes your "why this company / why you" to paste into the form.