Chief Engineer, Autonomy

Company: Shield AI
Location: San Diego
Posted on: January 21, 2026

Job Description:

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 offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. The Chief Engineer at Shield AI is responsible for solving complex technical challenges in deploying advanced autonomy solutions on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). As the chief authority on system architecture, design, development, risk mitigation, and product quality the Chief Engineer ensures the successful integration of Hivemind Autonomy across a range of aircraft, from small UAS to large autonomous collaborative platforms. This role is part of the Hivemind Solutions organization and leads a team of engineers to deliver cutting-edge autonomous capabilities for business-to-business and defense contracts. The ideal candidate has defense industry experience as a Chief Engineer and a proven track record of leading technical teams to develop and deploy autonomous systems. WHAT YOULL DO: • Serve as the Chief Engineer on Shield AI projects focused on developing and deploying autonomy solutions for unmanned aircraft • Lead a team responsible for advancing Hivemind Autonomy and shaping Department of Defense (DoD) autonomy architectures. • Define and assign technical objectives, make key engineering decisions, and ensure the quality and completeness of all technical deliverables • Provide technical leadership and oversight across both Internal Research and Development (IRAD) initiatives and DoD contracts. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: • BS / MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering, and/or similar degree • 10 years of industry experience in autonomy and/or UAS platforms (e.g., defense tech, self-driving car, etc.) • 7 years of delivering software into production/certifiable environments with high-reliability • Understanding of guidance, control and navigation (GNC) (e.g. controls, estimation, planning) • Understanding of robotics stack (e.g., controls, estimation, perception, planning, etc.) • Understanding of software development processes and how to effectively deploy software • Experience defining technical scope and managing technical requirements, product architectures, ICDs and other system level design documentation • Demonstrate problem solving skills by applying a scientific technical approach • Customer-facing engineering leader supporting both defense and internally funded development programs • Contribute to government contract proposal writing • Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal • Excellent leadership skills, driving a team of 6-20 engineers

Keywords: Shield AI, Newport Beach , Chief Engineer, Autonomy, IT / Software / Systems , San Diego, California