Staff Software Engineer, Software Integration & Test

Job Summary

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.

This role is for a seasoned C++ generalist and systems integrator who thrives at the intersection of software, infrastructure, and integration. You ll lead complex technical efforts across distributed systems and simulation environments, with minimal oversight. Your work will shape foundational capabilities that power autonomy, simulation, and real-time system interfaces across multiple platforms.

Responsibilities

• Architect and implement high-performance C++ and Python systems across cross-platform environments.
• Lead the design and integration of distributed systems, simulation tools, and third-party hardware/software.
• Define and enforce technical direction, design patterns, and integration practices across projects.
• Guide teams in building robust messaging and API layers (e.g., gRPC, REST, ZeroMQ) that bridge critical system components.
• Own the evolution and support of CI/CD pipelines using GitLab CI, Docker, Conan, and CMake.
• Lead debugging and optimization of real-time and multi-threaded systems across a range of domains.
• Drive end-to-end integration efforts, including planning, implementation, and verification across simulation and operational systems.
• Serve as a force multiplier by mentoring other engineers and contributing to shared tooling and process improvements.
• Evaluate and incorporate new technologies that improve system performance, stability, and developer efficiency.

Required Qualifications

• Typically requires a minimum of 7 years of related experience with a
• Bachelor s degree; or 5 years and a Master s degree; or 4 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.
• Advanced experience designing and maintaining large C++ systems, with fluency in C++14/17/20 and comfort navigating legacy C++98/03 codebases.
• Proficiency in Linux/Unix environments, including system-level development and debugging tools.
• Strong systems integration background with practical experience in distributed systems, real-time processing, and hardware/software interfaces.
• Significant experience with CI/CD systems, containerization (e.g., Docker), and build tooling (e.g., CMake, Conan).
• Proficiency in Python and familiarity with other scripting and automation tools.
• Deep knowledge of Linux environments (Windows experience is a bonus).
• Demonstrated success leading efforts involving 10+ contributors, including technical planning and mentorship.
• Strong understanding of networking concepts and communication protocols.

Preferred Qualifications

• Real-time or distributed simulation experience (e.g., AFSIM, NGTS, or similar).
• Familiarity with message-passing infrastructure and web-service technologies like gRPC, REST APIs, and message queues.
• Familiarity with open standards like UCI and OMS, and an understanding of data buses and interface protocols common in avionics and aircraft systems.
• Experience integrating simulation with autonomy frameworks or real-time operators.
• Experience developing and integrating with modeling or analysis pipelines