Senior Staff Engineer, Mission Systems (R3929)

Senior Staff Engineer, Mission Systems (R3929)

Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company founded in 2015 that protects 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. Shield AI operates nine offices worldwide, supporting operations across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Job Description

This senior staff engineer for mission systems serves as a senior technical leader responsible for the end-to-end engineering of mission systems on advanced next-generation unmanned aircraft, including payloads, communications, avionics, weapons, and associated support systems. The engineer will shape the technical direction of programs, ensuring that the aircraft delivers decisive mission capabilities through robust, integrated, and certifiable system designs.

What You'll Do

Lead system architecture and requirements development and integration for payloads, avionics, and weapons integration.

Serve as a technical subject matter expert for mission systems engineering across the aircraft program.

Drive trade studies and system-of-systems analysis to balance performance, cost, and schedule.

Oversee integration and test campaigns, from bench-level hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) to flight test.

Ensure compliance with MIL-HDBK-516C, DO-178C, DO-254, and related standards.

Collaborate with program management to de-risk architectures and ensure technical maturity gates are met.

Interface with customers, partners, and suppliers to align system requirements and certifications.

Required Qualifications

B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related field.

8+ years of relevant aerospace / defense experience, with at least 5 years in mission systems integration.

Demonstrated experience with aircraft payloads, avionics, and / or weapons integration.

Experience with line-of-sight and beyond line-of-sight aircraft communications systems and components.

Working knowledge of Government modular open system approach (MOSA) standards, including open mission systems (OMS), Government Reference Architectures (GRA), or modular avionics standards.

Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and deliver complex systems to fielded capability.

Strong knowledge of systems engineering processes and product development lifecycle.

Familiarity with DO-178C / DO-254 certification requirements for software and hardware.

Excellent communication skills and ability to brief technical findings to executives and customers.

Active Secret clearance and the ability to obtain a Top-Secret clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

Master's or Ph.D. in Aerospace, Systems, or Electrical Engineering.

Hands-on experience with flight test operations and mission system validation.

Direct experience integrating advanced sensors, autonomy, AI-enabled payloads, or guided weapons.

Background in model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and SysML tools.

Strong knowledge of current aircraft mission systems vendors and capabilities.

Active DoD Top-Secret clearance.

Salary : $170,000 – $250,000 per year.

Full-time regular employee offer package : Pay within range listed + bonus + benefits + equity. Temporary employee offer package : Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment). Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors, including skill set, level of experience, licenses, certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.

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.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

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