SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company developing AI-powered autonomy software and autonomous aircraft systems for mission-critical operations. The company seeks a Software Engineering Manager to lead the X-BAT Hardware Test Software team, which builds and sustains automated production test stands for avionics and aircraft electrical assemblies.
In this role, you will lead a team of software engineers developing test frameworks, station-control software, equipment interfaces, data collection systems, and automated pass/fail evaluation logic. The systems interact with custom fixtures, instrumentation, embedded devices, FPGA-enabled hardware, and avionics units under test.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leading, mentoring, and growing a team of software engineers supporting X-BAT avionics production test
- Owning the technical roadmap and execution for automated test stands, reusable test frameworks, station software, and test-data systems
- Building scalable Python-based software for test sequencing, instrument and fixture control, unit-under-test communication, measurement collection, pass/fail evaluation, and reporting
- Guiding software architecture, code quality, configuration management, CI/CD, release processes, documentation, and operational support
- Partnering with electrical, mechanical, FPGA, and embedded-software teams to translate requirements into automated test coverage
- Improving test coverage, station uptime, throughput, failure triage, test repeatability, and traceability
- Establishing metrics and processes for regression health, station reliability, first-pass yield, retest rate, false failures, and recurring failure modes
- Supporting root-cause analysis across hardware, fixtures, instrumentation, test software, embedded software, and electrical interfaces
The ideal candidate has managed engineering teams and has personally built or led the development of automated hardware test systems in production, manufacturing, qualification, or high-consequence environments. You understand robust test automation: safe operation, repeatable results, useful diagnostics, configuration control, traceability, maintainability, and a practical path from prototype to sustained production use.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 5+ years of experience in software engineering, test automation, embedded systems, hardware-integrated software, manufacturing test, avionics, aerospace, robotics, automotive, industrial systems, or similar fields
- 2+ years of direct people-management experience leading software, test, or hardware-integration engineers
- Demonstrated experience building, deploying, and sustaining automated functional-test systems for complex hardware
- Strong Python experience, particularly for automation frameworks, hardware communication, instrument control, data acquisition, and test orchestration
- Experience with C++ or C in embedded, systems, device-control, or hardware-facing applications
- Experience working directly with electrical hardware, test fixtures, instrumentation, and devices under test
- Familiarity with FPGA-enabled hardware and ability to work effectively with FPGA engineers on system-level test and debug
- Familiarity with common interfaces and protocols such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, UDP, serial, CAN, SPI, I2C, USB, GPIO, PCIe, or JTAG
- Experience with Git, code review, automated testing, CI/CD, release management, and configuration control
- Strong communication skills and ability to work effectively across software, electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, and program teams
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Experience developing automated production test equipment for avionics, aerospace, defense, autonomous systems, robotics, or mission-critical hardware
- Experience designing reusable test frameworks rather than only writing one-off test scripts
- Experience with programmable power supplies, electronic loads, DAQ systems, digital I/O, network equipment, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, or custom test fixtures
- Experience with FPGA programming, bitstream management, register-level control, JTAG, board bring-up, or FPGA-adjacent debug
- Experience with embedded Linux, microcontrollers, board-support packages, device drivers, or real-time systems
- Experience with production traceability, serial-number tracking, test-result databases, calibration workflows, manufacturing systems, or quality systems
- Experience in a regulated, safety-critical, mission-critical, or configuration-controlled engineering environment
Note: This role requires ITAR exposure and S/SAR clearance eligibility.
