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. Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI's technology actively supports operations worldwide. This team operates at all levels of the command-and-control hierarchy (from advanced control laws, through motion planning, and up to advanced tactical behaviors and multi-agent coordination) and across a multitude of mission sets, platform types, and operational domains (e.g., aircraft kinematics/dynamics, trajectory design, optimization, information fusion, efficient algorithms, etc.) and software integration skillsets (e.g. structures, protocols, threading, interface management, etc.) An adecuado candidate is expected to address operational system needs through a multitude of advanced methodologies that blend traditional control system approaches with advanced optimization. Implement tactical autonomy software features that enable unmanned platforms to perform complex missions across air, land, sea, and space domains

Develop and test behaviors supporting coordination, target engagement, reconnaissance, and survivability in contested scenarios

Participate in the software development lifecycle, including implementation, testing, debugging, and supporting verification and validation efforts

Collaborate with senior engineers to integrate software components with broader system elements (e.g., Write clean, maintainable, and well-tested code following established engineering standards and team practices

Support integration and testing across simulation and real-world environments

Continue building expertise in software engineering, autonomy, and robotics systems





Travel up to 20% to support testing, integration, and collaboration with partner teams

BS in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field

Experience in production-level C++ software development

2-3 years of experience in one or more of the following: software sub-system scheduling and integration, behavior planning, task and resource allocation, motion planning, optimization, or flight controls

Experience with collaborative software development tools for version control, issue tracking, code reviews, release management

Ability to contribute to the design, development, and integration of complex software systems as part of a multi-disciplinary team

Interest in growing technical skills and, over time, providing guidance to more junior engineers

Exposure to systems operating at different technology readiness levels (TRLs) through academic, research, or internship experience

Familiarity with mission systems integration concepts, testing, or demonstrations

Experience (academic or project-based) in one or more of the following areas:

Motion planning, behavior planning, or multi-agent coordination

Expose to autonomy, control, or decision-making systems

Familiarity with robotic software tools (e.g., Experience using simulation environments for development or testing

Awareness of the software or systems development lifecycle

Exposure to high-assurance or safety-critical software concepts (e.g., Full-time regular employee offer package:

Temporary employee offer package:

Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)

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📌 Senior Software Engineer, Services (Madrid)
🏢 shieldai
📍 Madrid