XBAT Software Test Engineer (R3696)

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Boston, Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kyiv (Ukraine), and Melbourne (Australia), Shield AI’s technology actively supports U.S. and allied operations worldwide. For more information, visit Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X , YouTube and Instagram.

As the XBAT Software Test Engineer on the SIO team, you will lead the verification and validation of autonomy, mission-oriented, and avionics software for Shield AI’s next-gen aircraft systems. These platforms demand the highest levels of system integrity, operational reliability, and test rigor. Your role will center around designing scalable, automated test infrastructure, validating mission-critical behaviors across simulation and real aircraft environments, and enabling rapid, safe deployment of software to flight operations. You’ll partner closely with engineering, product, and flight test teams to ensure the system is testable, traceable, and always ready for mission.

What You'll Do:

• You will lead system-level software testing and verification for Shield AI’s upcoming X-BAT platform—our most complex, capable, and safety-critical aircraft. This role focuses on accelerating software maturity and validation through rigorous, automated, and traceable testing practices. You will:
• Own end-to-end system test strategy for software-in-the-loop (SIL), hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), and vehicle-in-the-loop (VIL) environments—scaling them for continuous integration and rapid release cycles.
• Design and implement mission-critical system test cases validating autonomous behaviors, requirements compliance, and operational edge cases across nominal, safety-critical, and degraded conditions.
• Coordinate and execute flight test and software release campaigns, working cross-functionally with autonomy, embedded systems, flight ops, and safety engineering teams.
• Develop and maintain tooling for requirements-test traceability, test result reporting, and release qualification to meet both internal and external safety standards.
• Drive system-level integration testing workflows, including regression, performance, fault injection, and safety-critical operational scenarios.
• Mentor junior engineers in best practices for high-assurance system verification, aircraft software development, and rigorous test design.

Required Qualifications:

• 7+ years' experience in system/software test engineering, including 3+ years with aerospace, defense, or autonomous vehicle platforms.
• Demonstrated track record of success in system-level testing and release efforts for complex, safety-critical platforms (preferably Group 5 UAS or equivalent).
• Excellent proficiency in automating test infrastructure using Python, C++, and other modern tools and approaches
• Very strong experience building and using simulation and hardware-in-the-loop capabilities for automated integration testing and continuous validation.
• Excellent understanding of requirements validation and traceability processes - ideally with experience building tools to automate and control processes.
• Working knowledge of aerospace verification standards (e.g., DO-178C) and/or airworthiness, safety case, or certification-aligned testing.
• Ability to work independently in fast-paced, ambiguous environments while collaborating across multiple disciplines - evidence of success thriving in these environments.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Direct experience supporting or leading flight test campaigns and airborne software releases.
• Hands-on experience with simulation frameworks, mission scenario scripting, or real-time test systems.
• Experience building tools for requirements-traceability, test coverage analysis, defect tracking, or test reporting.
• Strong familiarity with modern DevOps tools (e.g., Git, CI/CD, Docker).

$175,000 - $260,000 a year

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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.

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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.