Engineer I, Software - Factory Team (R6235)

Shield AI is hiring an Engineer I, Software - Factory Team (R6235) in Washington DC, United States. It pays $79k-$110k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Level.

AI in this role

Build automated testing and simulation tooling to evaluate AI pilot behaviors for the Hivemind autonomous platform.

pythondocker

software-testingautomationsimulationdata-analysis

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:

As an Software Engineer I on the HMS Factory Team, you will help build and maintain automated testing, log-analysis, and scenario-generation tools that support the Hivemind Platform (HMP). You will work with experienced software, autonomy, and systems engineers to help teams evaluate AI Pilot behaviors through repeatable simulation testing and data-driven performance analysis.

This is a hands-on engineering role for an early-career developer interested in autonomy, simulation, software test infrastructure, data analysis, and distributed systems. You will contribute Python-based tooling, test automation scripts, analysis utilities, and documentation that help autonomy and systems developers run tests, understand simulation results, and identify software issues.

You will also gain exposure to secure and commercial development environments, build and dependency-management workflows, containerized infrastructure, and distributed test orchestration. Under guidance from senior engineers, you will help improve the reliability, usability, and scalability of the team’s testing and analysis ecosystem.

How we rate this

Engineer I, Software - Factory Team (R6235) at Shield AI rates 75 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Open the description and count.

Key facts

Engineer I, Software - Factory Team (R6235) is an open job at Shield AI.
Level rates this role AI Level 3 of 4: Works on AI.
The listed salary is $79k-$110k a year.
The role is based in Washington, D.C..
The job was posted on October 10, 2026.
Seniority: junior.
Applications are handled by Shield AI. Apply on Shield AI

Prepare for this job

A free preview built only from this posting: what it asks for, what you could be asked in an interview, and how to adjust your resume.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

Software TestingAutomationSimulationData AnalysisPythonDocker

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where software testing was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where automation was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where simulation was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where data analysis was part of your work. What did you do?
Walk me through how you've used Python in your day-to-day work.

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Software Testing, Automation, Simulation, Data Analysis, and Python. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project. This role expects it to be a running habit.

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