Shield AI · 1 day ago
Autonomy Engineer, Navigation (R4171)
San Francisco Bay Area
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$187K/yr - $400K/yrShield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company focused on protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. The Autonomy Engineer will design, develop, integrate, test, and deploy navigation solutions for mission-critical systems, contributing to advanced state estimation and navigation algorithms.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)Autonomous VehiclesDronesMachine LearningNational Security
Responsibilities
Research and develop advanced state estimation and navigation algorithms to ensure assured Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) in contested environments
Design, write, and deploy production-quality C++ software for aviation platforms requiring real-time, deterministic performance
Build and maintain comprehensive unit, integration, and system-level tests to validate navigation software performance under operational constraints
Develop modeling, calibration, and simulation tools for inertial and aided navigation technologies used in airborne platforms
Participate in agile-based product planning, feature definition, capacity estimation, and cross-team collaboration
Contribute to ongoing system performance evaluation, regression analysis, and V&V (Verification and Validation) efforts
Qualification
Required
Strong proficiency in modern C++ (C++11 or newer) and professional experience developing software for embedded Linux systems
Experience designing and deploying state estimation algorithms (e.g., error state EKF, UKF) in real-world defense or aerospace applications
Familiarity with developing for constrained environments requiring deterministic timing and high reliability
Deep understanding of inertial navigation systems (INS), GNSS integration, and navigation error modeling
Expertise calibrating and integrating IMUs, GPS receivers, magnetometers, and barometric sensors with flight software
Familiarity with MATLAB or Python for prototyping is acceptable; however, primary development experience must be in C++
Preferred
Experience developing and deploying assured PNT systems for DoD customers
Expertise building digital models and simulations of navigation sensors and systems to inform hardware trade studies and mission analysis
Familiarity with alternative navigation techniques, such as celestial navigation, terrain-aided navigation, or vision-based navigation (VBN)
Experience validating and verifying navigation systems in operational test environments
Principal-level applicants are expected to demonstrate thought leadership in navigation systems and may serve as technical mentors, roadmap authors, design reviewers, or proposal authors
Benefits
Bonus
Benefits
Equity
Temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
Company
Shield AI
Shield AI is a deep-tech company that focuses on developing AI-powered systems to enhance the safety of service members and civilians.
Founded in 2015
1001-5000 employees
H1B Sponsorship
Shield AI has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (3)
2024 (3)
2021 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageTotal Funding
$1.31BKey Investors
Hercules CapitalUS Innovative Technology FundSnowpoint Ventures
2025-03-06Series F· $240M
2023-12-29Debt Financing· $200M
2023-10-31Series F· $300M
Leadership Team
Gary Steele
Chief Executive Officer
Brandon Tseng
Co-Founder
Recent News
Company data provided by crunchbase