LIVE FEEDVIEWS 0UTC —
POSTING ACTIVE · REQ-6B5BE · FY26.Q2
Staff Engineer, Modeling & Simulation (R4869)
Shield AI
[ COMPENSATION RANGE · ANNUAL · BASE ]
$150,000 – $220,000USD
MIDPOINT
$185,000
SPREAD
$70,000
LEVEL
LEAD
TECHNICAL STACK · 2 TAGS
§ 01OVERVIEW
Founded in 2015, 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 and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft. 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.
§ 02JOB DESCRIPTION:
The Aircraft Simulation team turns frontier autonomy into mission-ready aircraft. We own the commit-to-flight pipeline—deterministic aircraft and mission simulation, HITL/SITL integration, CI/CD, and tooling for automated flight qualification testing. Our goal is simple: make AI fly—safely, reliably, and fast.
As a Staff Modeling & Simulation Engineer, you will be dedicated to Shield AI’s next-generation aircraft program, contributing to our emergent modeling & simulation tooling. You’ll design, build, and scale novel aircraft subsystem models, develop infrastructure that enables robust automated testing for our next generation XBAT product line, and conduct system performance analysis.
§ 03WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Develop models and infrastructure for the integrated simulation pipeline in C++.
- Design deterministic, high-performance simulation tools capable of faster-than-real-time execution for development, testing, and release.
- Implement test scenarios and write unit, system, and regression tests.
- Collaborate across autonomy, embedded, GNC, and test engineering to ensure the simulation mirrors real aircraft behavior and mission scenarios.
- Contribute to platform-agnostic simulation tooling to accelerate current and future aircraft design and development efforts.
- Perform verification and validation (V&V) analysis activities on modeling tools.
- Conduct system performance analysis and generate reports and visualizations.
- Utilize best practices in C++, simulation architecture, and performance engineering.
§ 04REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- BS or MS in Computer Science, Aerospace, Robotics, or related field.
- 7+ years of experience in simulation software development, with emphasis on modern C++ (C++17 or later) and performance optimization.
- Strong understanding of rigid-body dynamics, kinematics, aerodynamics, and sensor mechanics.
- Proven experience developing or integrating simulation systems for robotics, aerospace, and/or autonomous systems.
- Ability to debug complex build and runtime environments (CMake, package management, logging, and profiling tools).
- Experience with software testing tools (GTest, etc.)
- Experience with simulation V&V.
- Strong collaboration and communication skills across software, hardware, and systems disciplines.
- Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired.
§ 05PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Grasp of real-time and deterministic software design, including multi-threading, synchronization, and memory management.
- Experience with DevOps-integrated simulation workflows, including CI/CD and automated hardware testing environments.
- Working knowledge of Python for data analysis, test automation, or simulation orchestration.
- Familiarity with aircraft and flight physics modeling.
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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.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
- How much does the Staff Engineer, Modeling & Simulation (R4869) at Shield AI pay?
- The posting lists a range of $150K–$220K per year. Ranges reflect what Shield AI publicly declared on the source posting.
- Where is this Staff Engineer, Modeling & Simulation (R4869) role based?
- The role is based in San Diego, California.
- What experience does Shield AI expect for this role?
- The posting is tagged as a lead-level role, typically 7+ years of experience. Check the requirements section for specifics.
- Where is Shield AI headquartered?
- Shield AI is headquartered in San Diego, USA.
- How was this posting sourced?
- This role was pulled directly from Shield AI's Lever careers site. Apply links open in the employer's own ATS — no reposts or aggregator middleware.
[ APPLICATION ROUTE ]LEVER · External ATS
APPLY VIA LEVER→Apply links open in the employer's official ATS. Always verify recruitment messages on the company's careers page before sharing personal information.
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