Principal Engineer, Software

Role Description

The Special Projects team at Shield AI is an elite force within the office of the CTO. It consists of a group of very senior (L5-L8) and highly experienced software engineering experts from diverse fields (aerospace, robotics, cloud infrastructure, game development, interactive media design, ...). The charter of this group is to steer technology development towards strategic alignment with the CTO’s vision, through tactical insertion into teams and technologies across the organization. Individuals within this team make direct and at times forward-sprinting contributions to all three pillars of Hivemind, Shield AI’s software ecosystem for developing and deploying resilient intelligent teaming for aircrafts.

Hivemind consists of four products:

• EdgeOS: C++ based high-performance middleware for autonomy development
• Pilot: Autonomy for the edge built atop EdgeOS; a models-based, modular and open architecture C++ codebase
• Forge: Shield AI's AI Factory for the design, development, and testing of Hivemind Edge systems; a service-oriented architecture leveraged through an SDK, CLI, and web portal; a Go, Python, Typescript codebase
• Commander: Software and hardware to support rich human-in-the-loop and human-on-the-loop interactions with the Hivemind; a C++-based back-end for interaction with Pilot; and a web-application UI for mission planning, command and control by operators implemented in a Typescript/React codebase

The Special Projects team is chartered to operate effectively within ambiguity. While this team does not own any software products, it tactically and strategically impacts the development of all foundational Hivemind products and leverages those technologies to rapidly deliver low-TRL solutions. This work happens shoulder-to-shoulder with the product teams in some cases, and in a forward-sprinting manner within the Special Projects team in other cases. The result is direct contribution to products in the former case, and development of reference implementations in the latter. The Special Projects team also functions as a pipeline for product and solution engineering teams across the organization. Individuals who enter the Special Projects team rapidly gain depth and breadth in their understanding of the Hivemind software ecosystem. This positions them well for leading technology development effort across the product and solution organization.

Qualifications

• 15+ years experience developing large, production quality software systems.
• Excellent grasp of software development and coding principles with high productivity in a mainstream language (e.g. Typescript, C++, Go, Python, Rust, etc.).
• Strong knowledge of modern software engineering best practices.
• Experience with Git and code management tools.
• Good software hygiene regarding code documentation, unit testing, bug tracking.
• 5+ years of experience with React/Node/Typescript/Javascript development.
• 5+ years of experience with Web applications development ("Front-End" or "Full-stack").
• Deep understanding of full-stack web development.
• Multi-modal input handling (text, files, images, audio).
• Fluid intelligence that allows one to operate effectively in sometimes ambiguous conditions.
• Experience with Linux, Docker, and CI/CD environments.
• Hands-on experience with a major cloud platform (Azure, GCP, AWS).

Requirements

• This role requires travel to a Shield AI location 1-3 times per quarter.

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with geospatial data and WebGL.
• Experience with Playwright UI testing.
• Experience with Electron (or similar).
• Building debugging/inspection UIs for generative AI systems.
• Experience with user experience design video games.
• Experience designing for “Low Code” or “No Code” systems.
• Experience and/or comfort reading C++ and/or Python and/or Typescript.

Benefits

• 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)

Company Description

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.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.