Senior Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration – Expeditionary (R5208) at Shield AI
Boston, MA
$163,200–$244,800
Jul 20, 2026
Boston, MA
Jul 22, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior software engineering role focused on building and fielding autonomy software for two unmanned aircraft platforms — one operational and one in development. Day-to-day work spans writing mission behaviors, platform control logic, multi-agent coordination, and sensor integration in C++, then validating that software through simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, and live flight tests. Suits engineers with real-time or embedded systems backgrounds who want direct involvement in field deployments and operator support.
Senior level · 5+ years · San Diego, CA · Bachelor's required · Secret clearance · Full-time
Pay in the description: $163,200–$244,800
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $166,860 (middle half $131,418–$198,246). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
The posting lists offices across the U.S., Europe, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific; no single primary location is specified. San Diego, CA is Shield AI's headquarters and the most likely base for this role, but candidates should confirm the work location.
Degree requirement states 'BS/MS … or equivalent practical experience.' Because equivalent experience is explicitly accepted, the degree gate is treated as None per schema rules; however, the posting does name a degree as the primary credential, so this is a borderline case.
The role sits at the intersection of autonomy/robotics software and embedded/real-time systems integration — the alternative occupation 15-1299 (Computer Occupations, All Other) is noted as a runner-up given the specialized autonomous-systems focus, but the primary day-to-day work is software development.
Clearance: the JD states 'Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance' — candidates need not currently hold one, only be eligible.
Experience with unmanned aircraft/autonomous systems, robotics/vehicle control, payload/sensor integration, and military test events are all listed under Preferred Qualifications and are marked accordingly.
STANAG 4586, UCI, OMS, and HivemindSDK are mentioned as domain context and integration standards rather than named technologies candidates are screened on; they are omitted from the skills list per the generic-concept rule.
Requires a Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
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