---
title: 'Senior Applications Engineer, Maritime Autonomy (R6378) at Shield AI'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-applications-engineer-maritime-autonomy-r6378-shield-ai-united-states-115dat2sacmr'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-31'
---

# Senior Applications Engineer, Maritime Autonomy (R6378) at Shield AI

- **Company:** Shield AI
- **Location:** United States
- **Compensation:** $130k–$200k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-30
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-31
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/02db91d4-cd4d-4def-977d-76b63b39aa9b

## Job description

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: Our Applications Engineers are highly technical, customer-facing problem solvers who play a critical role in deploying Shield AI’s Hivemind software in real-world environments. This role focuses on maritime autonomy, helping customers integrate and deploy Hivemind on maritime platforms. It involves frequent travel, including international and multi-week engagements, to work directly alongside customers on-site.

This is primarily a Senior-level role, and we’re typically looking for candidates with several years of relevant industry experience. We will also consider exceptional mid-level engineers who demonstrate strong technical fundamentals, a hands-on mindset, and a track record of taking initiative in dynamic, customer-driven environments.

You will work closely with customers to understand their requirements, provide technical expertise during deployment, and ensure successful integration of our AI and autonomy products. You’ll also collaborate internally with engineering teams, with opportunities to grow into technical leadership over time.

You should apply if:

- You’re excited about a role involving travel and enjoy being on-site with customers, including international and multi-week engagements.
- You’re a strong technical contributor who takes initiative and figures things out.
- You enjoy problem-solving, building relationships, and working at the intersection of engineering and real-world deployment.
- You’re passionate about autonomy, robotics, and applying these technologies to maritime operations.

You should not apply if:

- You prefer minimal travel or want to work primarily from a single location.
- You want to do 100% R&D and don’t enjoy customer interactions.
- You’ve never programmed in C, C++, or Rust.

What you'll do:

- Deploy with customers on-site globally (up to 50% travel) to support software integration, development, and on-water testing.
- Become an expert user of the Hivemind enterprise software stack and its various autonomy modules.
- Provide technical support and training to customers.
- Develop AI and autonomy applications using the Shield AI enterprise software development kit, with a focus on maritime missions and platforms.
- Assist the sales team in pre-sales activities, including demonstrations, conferences, and immersions.
- Assist in post-sales deployment and integration of Shield AI enterprise software products with maritime platform controls, sensors, navigation systems, and communications.
- Develop and maintain technical documentation and training materials.
- Help customers debug software and API integration issues.
- Collaborate with the product engineering team to address customer feedback and improve products.

Required qualifications:

- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, or a related field.
- 5+ years of industry experience.
- 2+ years of experience in an integration or applications engineering role.
- 2+ years of experience working in a startup environment.
- Strong technical background in software engineering.
- Strong proficiency in modern C++.
- Intermediate proficiency in Python.
- Experience developing or integrating software for maritime platforms, marine robotics, or autonomous vessel systems.
- Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Preferred qualifications:

- Experience in the defense maritime or marine robotics industry.
- Familiarity with maritime navigation, vessel control, collision avoidance, or maritime sensors such as radar, AIS, and sonar.
- Experience supporting autonomous vessel demonstrations or sea trials.
- Experience building and running a small enterprise software applications or solutions engineering team.
- Advanced technical degree, especially in robotics or autonomy-related fields.

## #LI-KC3

#LC

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.

###

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.

## About Shield AI

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Shield AI builds AI pilots and autonomous systems for military aircraft to protect service members and civilians.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series G, venture-backed)
- **Headquarters**: San Diego, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2015
- **Founders**: Brandon Tseng, Ryan Tseng, Andrew Reiter

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Defense technology, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, aerospace
- Target customers: U.S. Department of Defense, allied nations’ military forces (B2G / Government)
- Mission or purpose statement: “Protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems.”

## Products & Services
- **Hivemind**: A combat‑tested, modular autonomy stack for aircraft – self‑driving technology for drones, jets, and helicopters. Includes path‑planning, mapping, state‑estimation, computer vision, and reinforcement learning. Type: Software (AI/autonomy).
- **V‑BAT**: A vertical take‑off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial system (UAS) designed for persistent ISR and strike missions. Type: Hardware (drone).
- **X‑BAT**: An advanced unmanned aircraft system with extended endurance and payload capacity, built for multi‑domain operations. Type: Hardware (drone).
- **Hivemind Vision Systems**: Computer‑vision and sensor‑fusion capabilities integrated into Hivemind for GPS‑denied environments. Type: Software + sensors.
- **Hivemind Enterprise**: A deployable version of Hivemind for third‑party platforms and commercial applications. Type: Software.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (private company). Total funding raised: $3.6B (as of Series G in March 2026).
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue ~$21.7M (estimated, private) | Total Funding $3.6B (including $2B Series G led by JP Morgan Chase and Advent International, March 2026).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: JP Morgan Chase, Advent International, Blackstone, Riot Ventures, SnowPoint Ventures, Disruptive (55+ investors total). Strategic partners include U.S. DoD and allied defense forces.
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew 68.3% YoY to 1,283 employees; 338 active job postings (+57.2% YoY); operates in 5 countries (U.S., Australia, UAE, Norway, Ukraine); recent acquisitions of Sentient Vision Systems (2024), Heron Systems, MARTIN UAV.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Combat‑proven autonomy**: Hivemind has been tested in live military operations, providing a first‑mover advantage in contested, GPS‑denied environments.
- **Full‑stack integration**: Combines software (AI pilot), hardware (V‑BAT, X‑BAT), and sensor systems, creating a tightly integrated product ecosystem.
- **Cross‑functional engineering culture**: Engineers work across AI, robotics, aerospace, and defense – not siloed – enabling rapid iteration and field deployment.
- **Top talent pipeline**: Employees drawn from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Amazon, Anduril, and other leading defense/tech firms.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale AI pilots across all domains**: Extend Hivemind from aircraft to ships, satellites, and ground vehicles (“every military asset”).
- **International expansion**: Growing presence in Australia, Europe, and Middle East via mission autonomy centers and partnerships.
- **Deepen autonomy stack**: Continued investment in reinforcement learning, simulation, and computer vision to maintain leadership in contested‑environment autonomy.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission‑driven work**: Directly contribute to protecting service members and civilians with cutting‑edge AI and robotics.
- **Cross‑functional teams**: Engineers collaborate across disciplines (AI, hardware, software, systems) on real‑world defense challenges.
- **Benefits**: Excellent medical coverage, mental health EAP, paid parental leave, pet insurance, flexible work hours, gym discounts (SD) / on‑site gym (DC), free parking, competitive compensation, 401k with match, stock benefits.
- **Work policy**: Flexible work hours; some offices (e.g., San Diego HQ, Arlington, DC) have on‑site facilities. Remote/hybrid options available depending on role.
- **Growth trajectory**: Rapidly scaling (68% headcount growth) with hundreds of open roles across engineering, operations, and program management.

## Sources
1. [shield.ai/about](https://shield.ai/about/)
2. [shield.ai/careers](https://shield.ai/careers/)
3. [LinkedIn – Shield AI](https://www.linkedin.com/company/shield-ai)
4. [CBInsights – Shield AI](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/shield-ai)
5. [Lever – Shield AI Jobs](https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai)

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