Lead Software Test Engineer, XBAT (R3696)

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting 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. With nine offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the 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. 

Shield AI has been redefining autonomous aviation with cutting-edge AI and GPS/RF-denied navigation technologies for the past few years. Now, we’re building a next-generation aircraft like no other—one that will push the boundaries of innovation and performance, equipped with Hivemind autonomy. 

We’re looking for a Software Test Engineer to join the Software Integration & Operations team, with the primary responsibility to lead our testing strategy and infrastructure development for our next-gen aircraft systems. For software components ranging from autonomy, embedded systems, ground control applications, and more – you will lead integration testing, release campaigns, most importantly the design and development of the automated testing infrastructure.  This is an opportunity to build something new and solve problems the industry does not realize exist.

Your role will center around designing scalable, automated test infrastructure, validating mission-critical behaviors across simulation and real aircraft environments, and enabling rapid but safe deployments of software to flight operations. You’ll need to be a technical expert and an extreme-owner, capable of leading the charge in complex engineering challenges, in fast-paced environment.

What You'll Do::
Architect & lead development of a system that integrates simulation, HIL solutions, and CI/CD pipelines for continuous testing - used by developers and test engineers daily to evaluate individual components (autonomy, controls, embedded, etc)and their integration.  Implement software interfaces and drivers to orchestrate simulation environments, hardware devices, and test equipment – enabling real-world behaviors, failure injection, and hardware manipulation  Define test cases to verify and validate software components as an integrated system – automate these tests for continuous execution on CI  Define and execute release test plans leading up to flight test events and major milestones  Build and sustain tools to optimize requirements-traceability between code and automated tests.  Work cross-functionally across Aircraft Autonomy & Software teams to derive requirements for the aircraft system, test infrastructure, and quality gates. Partner with our Hardware Test team to define and obtain the hardware infrastructure we need. 

Required Qualifications::
Typically, 7+ years of related experience with a BS degree (CE, CS, EE, or equivalent); or5+ years with a MS or PhD degree  Excellent proficiency in Python or C++, primarily to build tools for automated testing  Demonstrated capability in building continuous integration testing solutions, using CI/CD pipelines, simulation, and/or hardware-in-the-loop solutions  Excellent understanding of software testing and quality assurance, with or without perfect system requirements.  Experience testing real-time systems, avionics, or vehicle software  Ability to work independently in fast-paced environments, on complex challenges warranting cross-discipline collaboration 

Preferred Qualifications::
3+ years building automated test solutions for aircraft or autonomous vehicles  Experience with requirements-traceability and building moderns tools to optimize the processes required for airworthiness, DO-178C, or similar.  Direct experience leading software releases or flight test campaigns for aircraft or autonomous vehicles  Experience with Linux, Docker, and standard software deployment tools 

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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 but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and 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.

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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.