Senior Staff Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration – Expeditionary

Job overview

The Senior Staff Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration – Expeditionary role is onsite in Boston, MA. The listed salary range is $233,760–$350,640 per year. Shield AI develops intelligent systems intended to protect service members and civilians; this role supports the Expeditionary autonomy portfolio for V-BAT and X-BAT platforms. The engineer sets technical direction and guides integration of mission-ready autonomy across aircraft platforms. By coordinating architecture, interfaces, validation, and deployment with engineering teams and operational partners, the role advances reliable autonomy capabilities for current and future missions.

What you'll do

• Define long-term technical direction for Expeditionary autonomy across V-BAT, X-BAT, and future platforms
• guide development and fielding of mission autonomy, payload integration, flight-autonomy interfaces, executive autonomy, and multi-agent capabilities
• partner with the Aircraft team on platform integration and mission readiness
• influence architecture across engineering teams and customer organizations
• lead architecture reviews, engineering standards, and interface definitions
• mentor senior engineers
• guide customer releases, deployment strategy, and mission validation
• improve engineering processes, integration workflows, testing infrastructure, and developer experience
• define strategy for command-and-control interoperability and open-systems standards
• support technical hiring and staffing strategy.

What we're looking for

Skills & competencies

senior staff software engineer

autonomous pilot integration

expeditionary

boston ma

shield ai

v-bat

x-bat

autonomy software

c++

linux

10–20% travel

$233,760–$350,640/year

Work arrangement

• Weekend coverage required

Benefits & perks

• Full-time regular employee offer package includes benefits, equity, and bonus
• benefits details are not specified.

Why this role

Typically travels 10–20% of the year. Requires expert-level C++ and Linux systems development, 10+ years of relevant experience, and ability to obtain a SECRET clearance. Full-time regular employee package includes bonus, benefits, and equity.

About the employer

Shield AI is hiring for this role. Industry: Engineering Services. Sector: 54.