Chief Engineer, Autonomy
Company: Shield AI
Location: San Diego
Posted on: January 21, 2026
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Job Description:
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company
with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with
intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT
aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product
lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the
Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively
supports operations worldwide. The Chief Engineer at Shield AI is
responsible for solving complex technical challenges in deploying
advanced autonomy solutions on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). As
the chief authority on system architecture, design, development,
risk mitigation, and product quality the Chief Engineer ensures the
successful integration of Hivemind Autonomy across a range of
aircraft, from small UAS to large autonomous collaborative
platforms. This role is part of the Hivemind Solutions organization
and leads a team of engineers to deliver cutting-edge autonomous
capabilities for business-to-business and defense contracts. The
ideal candidate has defense industry experience as a Chief Engineer
and a proven track record of leading technical teams to develop and
deploy autonomous systems. WHAT YOULL DO: • Serve as the Chief
Engineer on Shield AI projects focused on developing and deploying
autonomy solutions for unmanned aircraft • Lead a team responsible
for advancing Hivemind Autonomy and shaping Department of Defense
(DoD) autonomy architectures. • Define and assign technical
objectives, make key engineering decisions, and ensure the quality
and completeness of all technical deliverables • Provide technical
leadership and oversight across both Internal Research and
Development (IRAD) initiatives and DoD contracts. REQUIRED
QUALIFICATIONS: • BS / MS in Computer Science, Electrical
Engineering, Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering, and/or similar
degree • 10 years of industry experience in autonomy and/or UAS
platforms (e.g., defense tech, self-driving car, etc.) • 7 years of
delivering software into production/certifiable environments with
high-reliability • Understanding of guidance, control and
navigation (GNC) (e.g. controls, estimation, planning) •
Understanding of robotics stack (e.g., controls, estimation,
perception, planning, etc.) • Understanding of software development
processes and how to effectively deploy software • Experience
defining technical scope and managing technical requirements,
product architectures, ICDs and other system level design
documentation • Demonstrate problem solving skills by applying a
scientific technical approach • Customer-facing engineering leader
supporting both defense and internally funded development programs
• Contribute to government contract proposal writing • Excellent
communication skills, both written and verbal • Excellent
leadership skills, driving a team of 6-20 engineers
Keywords: Shield AI, Escondido , Chief Engineer, Autonomy, IT / Software / Systems , San Diego, California
