Engineer II, Systems Test (R5038)

Summary

Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company focused on protecting service members and civilians through intelligent systems. The Engineer II will lead simulation-driven testing and automation efforts for the Hivemind software, ensuring reliability and performance in mission environments.

Responsibilities

• Develop automated regression, integration, and system-level tests to ensure Hivemind software quality and stability across releases
• Identify, reproduce, and diagnose software issues—collaborating closely with development teams to drive fixes and improvements
• Create and execute test plans and documentation for autonomy software in simulated environments, ensuring mission and safety requirements are met
• Design, implement, and maintain simulation-based test frameworks to validate Hivemind autonomy behavior and performance
• Build tools and utilities in Python to automate testing, data processing, and analysis workflows
• Develop test harnesses and data validation tools for Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) / Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) / Vehicle-in-the-Loop (VIL) and simulation environments
• Contribute to the definition of testing methodologies, metrics, and performance benchmarks for autonomy software validation
• Support the scaling and reliability of simulation infrastructure used for large-scale software validation
• Maintain detailed and accurate test documentation, ensuring traceability and knowledge sharing across teams
• Work with developers to integrate test coverage directly into the development pipeline (CI/CD)

Skills

• Typically requires a minimum of 2 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 0 years and a Master's degree; or a PhD without experience; or equivalent work experience
• Proficiency in Python
• Experience in robotics, small UAS, or related hands-on engineering projects
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and debugging skills
• Passionate about intelligent aircraft systems
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with cross-functional software, hardware and mechanical engineering teams
• Adaptability and a willingness to learn new technologies and methodologies quickly in a fast-paced environment
• The ability to obtain and maintain a SECRET Clearance. US citizenship is required as only US citizens are eligible for a security clearance
• Experience testing autonomous systems, robotics software, or flight autonomy algorithms
• Familiarity with C++ and software/hardware integration concepts
• Experience with HIL or VIL test environments
• Exposure to machine learning or AI-driven autonomy systems
• Background in simulation infrastructure design, distributed testing, or test data management
• Quality Assurance (QA) experience, including process definition, metrics, and validation tracking
• Experience with aerospace, defense, or mission-critical software
• Active SECRET clearance preferred

Qualifications

Must Haves

• Typically requires a minimum of 2 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree; or 0 years and a Master's degree; or a PhD without experience; or equivalent work experience
• Proficiency in Python
• Experience in robotics, small UAS, or related hands-on engineering projects
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and debugging skills
• Passionate about intelligent aircraft systems
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with cross-functional software, hardware and mechanical engineering teams
• Adaptability and a willingness to learn new technologies and methodologies quickly in a fast-paced environment
• The ability to obtain and maintain a SECRET Clearance. US citizenship is required as only US citizens are eligible for a security clearance

Nice to Haves

• Experience testing autonomous systems, robotics software, or flight autonomy algorithms
• Familiarity with C++ and software/hardware integration concepts
• Experience with HIL or VIL test environments
• Exposure to machine learning or AI-driven autonomy systems
• Background in simulation infrastructure design, distributed testing, or test data management
• Quality Assurance (QA) experience, including process definition, metrics, and validation tracking
• Experience with aerospace, defense, or mission-critical software
• Active SECRET clearance preferred

Benefits

• Bonus
• Benefits
• Equity
• Temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)