---
title: 'Staff Engineer, Safety-Critical Software (R5826) at Shield AI'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-engineer-safety-critical-software-r5826-shield-ai-san-diego-2sk7ds4tbd3f'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-07'
---

# Staff Engineer, Safety-Critical Software (R5826) at Shield AI

- **Company:** Shield AI
- **Location:** San Diego, CA
- **Compensation:** $200k–$300k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-09-04
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/1803c365-1f43-4445-b5e0-376f0b221ec6

## 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: The Hivemind Foundations team is an agile group of engineers focused on building a state-of-the-art Autonomy Software Development Kit (SDK) that enables resilient autonomy and intelligence for a wide range of platforms in diverse environments. The Safety-Critical Software Team in Hivemind Foundations is responsible for developing safety augmentation capabilities against strict airworthiness development standards for Hivemind Foundations. This allows Hivemind Enterprise customers to develop and fly cutting-edge autonomy solutions with confidence, with a clear path to certification. As a member of the Safety-Critical Software Team, you will work with a group of engineers to develop cutting-edge safety-critical, high-performance and robust software that serves as a safety monitor between the low-assurance mission autonomy system and the flight control system, bounding unsafe behavior and ensuring safe flight. You will work closely with talented engineers to architect and develop core systems, set standards for software engineering and mentor other engineers.

What you'll do:

- Drive architecture, development, integration and testing of an extensible, configurable Run-Time Assurance (RTA) module that ensures safe operation of autonomous systems in diverse, adversarial conditions.
- Work closely with other engineers in Foundations to design and integrate with the low-assurance mission-autonomy software and high-assurance middleware.
- Specialize, integrate and test the RTA capability on a diverse set of platforms in various conditions to ensure robust fail-safe behavior.
- Drive principled software development practices across Foundations including but not limited to code analysis, audit trail, principled review processes.
- Collaborate with the team to generate artifacts that enable certifiability of Foundations software, including but not limited to static & dynamic analysis reports, software documentation, architecture decision records (ADRs), interface control diagrams (ICDs), system models.
- Mentor and guide Foundations developers on practices of safe software development to enhance software quality and assurance.

Required qualifications:

- Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 9 years with a Master’s degree; or 7 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.
- Demonstrated excellence in designing and developing C++ based safety-critical software systems with Real-Time guarantees.
- Experience working as a mentor to other engineers in a role driving software best practices to enhance software quality.
- Experience integrating software on real-world physical systems and driving up performance and reliability.
- Deep expertise in C++ software architecture design patterns and their practical implementation.
- Strong knowledge of software assurance certifications such as DO-178C and MIL-HDBK-516.
- Strong Git and Linux development skills, along with modern software development practices (e.g., CI/CD, test-driven development).
- A track record of technical leadership, with the ability to set and maintain high standards, guide teams through complex technical challenges, and collaborate effectively.

Preferred qualifications:

- Experience developing against strict C++ coding standards (e.g., MISRA C++, JSF AV C++)
- Hands-on experience with airworthiness certifications such as MIL-HDBK-516, DO-178C.
- Experience taking a solution through a certification process and achieving a certification.

## #LI-KC3

#LD

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)

## Other roles at Shield AI

- [Associate Systems Administrator (R5698)](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-systems-administrator-r5698-shield-ai-wichita-d5gn13213sbk) — Wichita, KS
- [Staff Engineer, Embedded Firmware (R5637)](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-engineer-embedded-firmware-r5637-shield-ai-dallas-1g89vqjszdf2) — Dallas, TX
- [Staff Engineer, UI (R5832)](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-engineer-ui-r5832-shield-ai-melbourne-f17npv0n316y) — Melbourne, Australia
- [Senior Staff Engineer, Systems Integration (R5415)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-engineer-systems-integration-r5415-shield-ai-san-diego-52459eswjfqm) — San Diego, CA
- [Senior Director, Hivemind Operations & Sustainment (R5855)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-director-hivemind-operations-sustainment-r5855-shield-ai-washington-gjnpmamw2pth) — Washington, DC
- [Senior Staff Engineer, System Architect (R5843)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-engineer-system-architect-r5843-shield-ai-san-diego-swcv39vpw9fv) — San Diego, CA
- [Simulation Specialist, India](https://feeny.ai/job/simulation-specialist-india-shield-ai-bengaluru-n5jfqvf03jy2) — Bengaluru, India
- [Sr Proposal Manager - Taiwan](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-proposal-manager-taiwan-shield-ai-taipei-g0ve6yymsprr) — Taipei, Taiwan
- [Staff Supplier Development Engineer - Mechanical (R5859)](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-supplier-development-engineer-mechanical-r5859-shield-ai-seattle-87hjxfj19x9j) — Seattle, WA
- [Strategic Sourcing Manager (R5858)](https://feeny.ai/job/strategic-sourcing-manager-r5858-shield-ai-seattle-2pdkgdy1m8be) — Seattle, WA