Staff Engineer, Mission Systems (R5893)

Shield AI is hiring a Staff Engineer, Mission Systems (R5893) in Seattle, United States. It pays $180k-$260k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Shield AI.

Level's read on this job

Little AI ●○○○ is how Level rates this role: aI is not part of the work.
Level classes it as a lead role.
Shield AI has 664 other open roles on Level.

AI in this role

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: This staff engineer for mission systems will serve as a senior technical leader responsible for the end-to-end engineering of mission systems on advanced next-gen unmanned aircraft, including payloads, communications, avionics, weapons, and associated support systems. This individual will shape the technical direction of programs, ensuring that the aircraft deliver decisive mission capabilities through robust, integrated, and certifiable system designs. In this role, the engineer will drive mission system architectures, lead requirement development and allocation, and oversee system integration from concept through flight test and fielding. They will ensure that payloads, avionics, and weapons are seamlessly integrated into the aircraft while meeting mission performance, safety, airworthiness, and compliance objectives.

What You'll Do:

Lead system architecture and requirements development and integration for payloads, avionics, and weapons integration
Serve as a technical subject matter expert for mission systems engineering across the aircraft program
Drive trade studies and system-of-systems analysis to balance performance, cost, and schedule
Oversee integration and test campaigns, from bench-level hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) to flight test
Ensure compliance with MIL-HDBK-516C, DO-178C, DO-254, and related standards
Collaborate with program management to de-risk architectures and ensure technical maturity gates are met
Interface with customers, partners, and suppliers to align system requirements and certifications

Required Qualifications:

B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related field
Typically requires a minimum of 7 years of relevant Aerospace/defense experience, with at least 5 years in mission systems integration.
Demonstrated experience with aircraft payloads, avionics, and/or weapons integration
Demonstrated experience with line-of-sight and beyond line-of-sight aircraft communications systems and components
Working knowledge of Government modular open system approach (MOSA) standards to include open mission systems (OMS), Government Reference Architectures (GRA) or modular avionics standards
Proven ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and deliver complex systems to fielded capability
Strong knowledge of systems engineering processes and product development lifecycle
Familiarity with DO-178C/DO-254 certification requirements for software and hardware
Excellent communication skills and ability to brief technical findings to executives and customers
Active Secret clearance and have the ability to obtain a Top-Secret clearance

Preferred Qualifications:

Master’s or PhD in Aerospace, Systems, or Electrical Engineering
Hands-on experience with flight test operations and mission system validation
Direct experience integrating advanced sensors, autonomy, AI-enabled payloads, or guided weapons
Background in model-based systems engineering (MBSE) and SysML tools
Strong knowledge of current aircraft mission systems vendors and capabilities
Active DoD Top Secret clearance

#LI-JM2 #LE
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.

How we rate this

Staff Engineer, Mission Systems (R5893) at Shield AI rates 30 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

●●●● 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. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.