Applications Engineer, Autonomy (open level)

Job details

Work model

Hybrid

Salary

$120,000 - $318,000

Location

San Diego, California; Dallas, Texas; Washington, DC

Hiring context

How this role compares at Shield AI

Shield AI has 480 live roles in MeritLog’s catalog across 12 job families, and 375 of them are in engineering. 376 of those listings publish a pay range, a disclosure rate of 78%.

This role's posted range of $120,000 - $318,000 sits above 67% of the 355 other Shield AI roles quoted over the same currency and period.

Counted across the job boards MeritLog tracks, at the time this page was served. Pay comparisons use only listings that publish a complete range in the same currency and period.

Job description

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, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. 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.  Our Applications Engineers are highly technical, customer-facing problem solvers who play a critical role in deploying Shield AI’s Hivemind software in real-world environments. This role is travel-intensive, with frequent trips, often international, and sometimes lasting multiple weeks, to work directly alongside customers on-site. This is primarily a Senior-level role, and we’re typically looking for candidates with several years of relevant industry experience. That said, we will consider exceptional mid-level engineers who demonstrate strong technical fundamentals, a hands-on mindset, and a track record of taking initiative in dynamic, customer-driven environments In this role, you will work closely with customers to understand their requirements, provide technical expertise during deployment, and ensure successful integration of our AI and autonomy products. You’ll also collaborate internally with engineering teams, with opportunities to grow into technical leadership over time. You Should Apply If: You’re excited about a travel-heavy role and enjoy being on-site with customers, including international and multi-week engagements You’re a strong technical contributor (or early in your career and eager to grow) who takes initiative and figures things out You enjoy problem solving, building relationships, and working at the intersection of engineering and real-world deployment You’re passionate about autonomy, robotics, or aerospace You Should Not Apply If: You prefer minimal travel or want to work primarily from a single location You want to do 100% R&D and don’t enjoy customer interactions You’ve never programmed in C, C++, or Rust