Staff Sensing Engineer (R2506)

Introduction to Shield AI

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company whose mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. In pursuit of this mission, Shield AI is building the world’s best AI pilot. Its AI pilot, Hivemind, has flown a fighter jet (F-16), a vertical takeoff and landing drone (V-BAT), and a quadcopter (Nova). The company has offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington DC and abroad. Shield AI’s products and people are currently in the field actively supporting operations with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. allies. 

As a Sensor Engineer, you will work on integrating, modeling, and calibrating state-of-the-art sensors to enable reliable robot autonomy in the areas of perception, mapping, and state estimation. Your work will directly enable our autonomy software to both achieve improved performance and unlock new autonomy and perception capabilities at the edge. You will work closely with members of the team to understand sensing requirements, conduct trade studies, implement sensor models in software, write sensor control algorithms, integrate sensor software in Linux, and design calibration and validation processes to ensure fulfilment of these requirements. You will also contribute to the precise modeling of these sensors in simulation to improve perception algorithm development capabilities. 

What you'll do:

• Leverage sensor subject matter expertise to develop sensor models based on first principles and empirical data to enable robust autonomy and improve developer efficiency 
• Leverage sensor subject matter expertise to inform sensing architecture engineering efforts. Such efforts would cover, but not be limited to: Sensor trade studies, Sensor performance prediction, analysis, simulation, and Sensor selection for challenging, SWAP-constrained UAV applications
• Integrate sensors algorithms into Shield-AI products by working with the Embedded and Platform Architecture teams 
• Write Sensor Effects code that autonomously controls complex sensor payloads 
• Create automated sensor data analysis tools for validating sensor performance offline type and developing algorithm improvements 
• Develop filters to address noise and shortcomings of sensors 
• Create diagnostic and calibration tools to help scale production of robots 
• Drive end to end sensor pipelines for multiple sensing modalities 
• Collect sensor data and evaluate performance

Required qualifications:

• Typically requires a minimum of 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 4 years and a Master’s degree; or 2 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience
• B.Sc. in Computer Science, Aerospace, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics or a related field 
• At least 2 years of prior industry experience should be related solving real world robotics/autonomy/sensing problems 
• Hands-on experience with one or many of the following sensors: IMU, GNSS (ex GPS), magnetometer, EO/IR/thermal cameras, radar/RF 
• Knowledge of state estimation and sensor fusion algorithms 
• Experience with designing and executing experiments involving sensors 
• Experience with sensor selection / evaluation for edge autonomy systems 
• Knowledge of sensor calibration 
• Strong C++, Git, and Linux skills 
• Demonstrated track record of working hard, being a trustworthy teammate, holding yourself and others to high standards, and being kind to others 
• A team player with strong communication skills and the ability to lead & inspire others 

Preferred qualifications:

• Developing user space Linux applications 
• 4+ years of industry experience 
• Experience evaluating sensors for size, weight, accuracy, and power constraints (SWAP-C) 
• Hands-on experience designing sensor calibration routines 
• Experience in a collaborative development environment, including paradigms such as continuous integration & delivery, test-driven development, etc. 
• Strong knowledge and/or hands-on experience with state estimation and sensor fusion algorithms and corresponding sensor selection 

#LC

#LI-OE1 

Total package details:

Regular employee positions: Salary within range listed above + Bonus + Benefits + Equity (if applicable)

Temporary employee positions: Hourly within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)

*Interns/Military Fellows/Part-time not eligible for bonus, benefits or equity

Actual 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 check.

If you're interested in being part of our team, apply now! 

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.