Software Engineer Contractor Jobs in Oceanside, CA

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.

The Autonomous Pilot Integration team builds autonomy solutions for small, often air‑ or ground‑launched platforms that operate in multi‑agent fleets and frequently in disconnected or air‑gapped environments. We combine capabilities from the Autonomy Capabilities team (motion planning, tactics), the Perception team (track fusion), and the Hivemind SDK to develop the autonomy software that runs on launched effects platforms, then integrate, validate, and field it on the real hardware—for U.S. and international defense customers. Our engineers write new autonomy code—such as mission behaviors, platform‑specific control, multi‑agent coordination, contingencies, and executive autonomy—and own it end‑to‑end from software‑in‑the‑loop, to hardware‑in‑the‑loop, to vehicle‑in‑the‑loop, to live test exercise.

In this role, you will lead the technical delivery of complex autonomy capabilities spanning platform integration, fleet operations, and operational deployment. You’ll own some of the team’s most challenging technical problems while driving technical direction across multiple subsystems and collaborating closely with the Autonomy Capabilities team, Perception, feature crews, autopilot vendors, C2 providers, and customer partners. You’ll combine deep technical expertise with systems thinking to deliver scalable autonomy solutions for fleet‑scale operations.

• Lead Technical Delivery: Lead the technical execution of major autonomy capabilities; drive technical direction, coordinate cross‑functional execution, mentor engineers, and help deliver complex integration efforts.
• Develop & Field Autonomy: Develop and integrate autonomy software solutions onto launched effects platforms, including autopilot integration, payload systems, executive autonomy, multi‑agent coordination, and fleet‑scale deployment to disconnected or air‑gapped environments.
• Collaboration Across Teams & Partners: Serve as a primary technical interface with the Autonomy Capabilities team, Perception team, feature crews, autopilot vendors, C2 providers, and customer/contractor partners; influence interface definitions and coordinate integration across organizations.
• Design & Documentation: Lead design reviews, contribute to architecture decisions and ICDs, improve engineering rigor, and establish repeatable integration practices across multiple efforts.
• Pre‑deployment Preparation: Drive mission readiness for Capability Releases and fleet‑scale deployments by coordinating validation, release planning, hardware/software compatibility, and operational readiness.
• On‑site Test & Mission Support: Provide technical leadership during flight tests, customer demonstrations, range exercises, and operational deployments while troubleshooting complex issues under time‑critical constraints.
• Hardware/Software Debugging: Lead root‑cause analysis across autonomy software, payload computers, embedded systems, networking, and platform interfaces using simulation, lab testing, and field data.
• Mission Data & Debrief Support: Analyze mission data, reproduce issues, coordinate corrective actions across engineering teams, and drive continuous improvements into future releases.
• Continuous Improvement: Build tools, automation, and engineering processes that improve deployment velocity, mission reliability, developer productivity, and integration efficiency.
• C2 Interoperability & Standards: Drive implementation of command‑and‑control interfaces and support compliance with open‑systems standards while coordinating closely with external integration partners.
• Travel Requirement: Members of this team typically travel around 10–20% of the year to different office locations, customer sites, operator training events, flight tests, and integration exercises.

• BS/MS in a relevant engineering discipline or equivalent practical experience.
• Typically requires 7+ years of relevant experience.
• Expert C++ and Linux development experience.
• Experience leading complex autonomy or embedded software integration efforts.
• Experience influencing technical direction across multiple engineering teams.
• Experience supporting operational test events or customer deployments.
• Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.

• Experience with launched effects or distributed autonomous systems.
• Experience integrating PX4, ArduPilot, or custom autopilot solutions.
• Experience with fleet‑scale autonomous operations.
• Experience with disconnected or air‑gapped deployments.
• Experience mentoring engineers and leading technical initiatives.
• Experience with UCI, OMS, MOSA, WOSA, or TAK/CoT.

$195,200 - $292,800 a year

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.