Staff Engineer, Core Platform Integration (R5411)

San Diego, California DRONES Full-time $190k to $290k Posted Jul 23, 2026
Apply on Shield AI (opens in a new tab) Sourced via jobs.lever.co · Posted 2026-07-23

About this role

Shield AI is hiring a Staff Engineer, Core Platform Integration (R5411), full-time, on-site in San Diego, California, in the DRONES sector.

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai . Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn , X , Instagram , and YouTube .

Job Description:

Build the foundation for the next generation of autonomous systems. In this role, you'll develop and integrate the core software and platform infrastructure that powers mission-critical technology, working across teams to deliver reliable, scalable solutions from development through deployment.

What you'll do:

  • Own platform integration across SIL, HIL, VIL, and edge deployment workflows, ensuring components work together reliably and are easy for developers to use.
  • Build and maintain reference work spaces, platform reference implementations, and tooling that accelerate development, testing, deployment, and validation.
  • Integrate platform-level software across hardware, sensors, controllers, APIs, configuration, orchestration, and fleet/device management systems.
  • Support embedded platform bring-up and hardware diversification across developer boards, iron birds, aircraft/vehicle test platforms, and other reference hardware.
  • Improve platform stability, API quality, developer experience, and system scalability for mission-critical product and customer commitments.
  • Partner with autonomy, hardware, product, and program teams to identify integration gaps and deliver durable solutions.

Required qualifications:

  • 5+ years experience with strong software engineering experience in robotics, autonomy, embedded systems, distributed systems, or similarly complex platforms.
  • Strong experience with C++ and Python and experience building developer tools, configuration systems, orchestration frameworks, or automation.
  • Experience integrating and debugging software across Linux-based systems, hardware interfaces, deployment environments, and APIs, including use of measurement or diagnostic tools such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, or protocol analyzers to debug embedded communication interfaces.
  • B.S. or Master’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
  • Ability to work independently in ambiguous technical areas and drive cross-functional integration efforts to completion.
  • Strong communication and collaboration skills

Preferred qualifications:

  • Experience with SIL, HIL, and VIL workflows for autonomy, robotics, aerospace, automotive, or defense systems.
  • Experience with embedded Linux, BSP development, build systems, device trees, bootloaders, or hardware bring-up.
  • Experience with edge deployment, device discovery, fleet management, OTA workflows, or application deployment to remote devices.
  • Experience with platforms such as Jetson, Qualcomm, i.MX8, or similar embedded compute hardware.
  • Experience integrating sensor drivers, controller interfaces, vehicle interfaces, hardware abstraction layers, or reference test platforms.
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Description from Shield AI's official posting. Always confirm details on the company careers page.

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About Shield AI

Shield AI

Company in the mobility sector tracked nightly on the Mobility Jobs board.

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Larry Sherwood Jr.

About Larry Sherwood Jr.

Talent Acquisition Leader specializing in mobility, EV, and frontier tech. 1,000+ hires across roles ranging from production technicians to VPs, including 48 hires for the AFEELA U.S. launch at Sony Honda Mobility (98% offer acceptance, $1.5M+ agency savings). SHRM-CP certified. Build recruiting functions from scratch, no agencies.

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Curated by Larry Sherwood Jr. on the free Mobility Jobs board. Pulled nightly from company applicant tracking systems. Apply directly on the source link above to be considered.