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Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company developing intelligent autonomous systems to protect service members and civilians. The company produces Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies, with operations across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
As Senior Principal Autonomy Engineer, you will define the technical vision, architecture, and development roadmap for autonomy capabilities integrating RF sensing, perception, state estimation, sensor fusion, decision logic, guidance, navigation, and vehicle control. You will lead development of advanced radar and RF signal processing algorithms including waveform design, adaptive beamforming, direction finding, target detection and tracking, clutter mitigation, and electronic protection.
You will serve as the senior technical authority for autonomy and RF system performance, leading high-consequence trade studies, requirements decisions, architecture reviews, algorithm reviews, and technical risk resolution across the full system lifecycle. You will establish and govern end-to-end simulation, modeling, and verification approaches including RF scene generation, electronic attack and protection modeling, sensor models, 6-DOF vehicle simulation, Monte Carlo analysis, and field test correlation.
Key responsibilities include leading cross-functional technical integration across autonomy, software, RF hardware, avionics, embedded computing, vehicle systems, flight sciences, systems engineering, test, and manufacturing. You will translate mission and vehicle needs into rigorous technical requirements, performance budgets, interface definitions, algorithm specifications, and verification plans. You will guide real-time algorithm implementations in MATLAB, Python, C, C++, and DSP environments, balancing performance, compute resources, latency, reliability, and operational needs.
You will lead technical engagement with customers, partners, suppliers, and executive stakeholders, communicating technical strategy, performance evidence, maturity, risks, and tradeoffs. You will build organizational capability by mentoring engineers, establishing technical standards, recruiting specialized talent, and raising the quality of algorithm development, systems engineering, modeling, verification, and test practices. You will influence investment decisions, technical proposals, and growth initiatives by defining differentiated autonomy and RF capabilities and supporting customer-facing technical engagements.
**Requirements:**
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, or related technical discipline
- 15+ years of professional experience in autonomy, radar, RF sensing, signal processing, guidance and navigation, sensor fusion, aerospace systems, robotics, or related complex technical fields
- Demonstrated technical leadership for the architecture, development, integration, and fielding of advanced autonomous, RF sensing, radar, electronic warfare, avionics, aerospace, or defense systems
- Expert knowledge of radar and RF signal processing, including waveform design, adaptive processing, beamforming, direction finding, target detection and tracking, clutter modeling, interference mitigation, and performance assessment
- Experience developing and validating algorithms through high-fidelity end-to-end simulation, including sensor models, RF environmental models, vehicle dynamics, 6-DOF simulation, and operationally representative scenarios
- Demonstrated experience translating mission needs into system and subsystem requirements, performance allocations, interface definitions, algorithm specifications, verification plans, and test objectives
- Substantial hands-on experience with MATLAB and Python, along with experience developing or transitioning algorithms into C, C++, real-time DSP, embedded computing, or hardware-accelerated environments
- Experience leading technical teams, mentoring engineers, driving design reviews, and resolving complex cross-functional technical issues
- Strong communication skills and demonstrated ability to influence senior technical leaders, program leaders, external customers, and executive stakeholders
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance
**Preferred Qualifications:**
- Master's degree or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or related technical field with emphasis in radar, RF systems, signal processing, control systems, autonomy, estimation, or optimization
- Experience leading radar seeker, RF sensing, autonomy, guidance, navigation, or electronic warfare capability development from early research through system design, critical design review, qualification, test, and production or operational deployment
- Expertise in advanced adaptive signal processing techniques including space-time adaptive processing, adaptive beamforming, optimal estimation, multi-sensor tracking, waveform optimization, mismatched filtering, cognitive sensing, or machine learning-enabled signal processing
- Experience with electronic warfare and electronic protection algorithm development
- Experience planning and executing laboratory, chamber, ground, hardware-in-the-loop, field, and flight test activities
- Experience with system engineering artifacts and lifecycle methods
- Demonstrated record of technical leadership through competitive captures, R&D programs, customer proposals, invention disclosures, patents, publications, or externally recognized subject matter expertise
- Experience building and leading technical teams across algorithm development, systems engineering, simulation, embedded software, integration, and test
- Active U.S. Secret or higher security clearance
