Staff Applications Engineer, Autonomy
Application analysis
Staff Applications Engineer, Autonomy at Shield AI is a forward deployed defense / aerospace role for engineers who want customer-facing technical work with real deployment ownership.
Reading this role
This Technical customer-facing role role centers on hands-on work with customers to ship and adopt technical products. Key signals from the listing: Customer on-site travel, Senior scope.
About Shield AI
Defense technology companies combine startup velocity with government deployment constraints and security requirements. The role is anchored in United States, so expect on-site customer work in that region.
Signals in the listing
Stand out for Staff Applications Engineer, Autonomy
- Lead your application with one paragraph tying Staff Applications Engineer, Autonomy to a specific customer or deployment you owned — Shield AI hires for shipped outcomes, not tool lists.
- Mirror language from the job description in your examples — if they emphasize deployment, use deployment stories; if integration, use integration stories.
- Include a short “how I work with customers” section in your cover note: communication cadence, escalation instincts, and how you handle ambiguity.
- This role is tied to United States — mention willingness to work on-site with customers and any existing ties to that market (clients, partners, or domain knowledge).
Stand out at Shield AI
- Demonstrate clearance readiness with a concrete example — Shield AI will probe for specifics, not buzzwords.
- Demonstrate operational rigor with a concrete example — Shield AI will probe for specifics, not buzzwords.
- Highlight classified or regulated environment experience and comfort with on-site customer work.
- Read recent engineering blog posts, product launches, and customer stories on shield.ai — reference one explicitly in your outreach to show genuine interest.
Tailored from this listing’s title, company, and description. Always verify requirements on the company careers page before applying.
Role description
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. Our Staff Applications Engineers are highly technical, customer-facing leaders who own and drive complex customer engagements from end to end. In this role, you will become a deep expert in the Hivemind Enterprise product and act as a trusted technical partner to customers, often owning one or multiple accounts at a time. This is a travel-heavy role, with frequent trips, including international travel and multi-week on-site engagements. We are primarily hiring at the Staff level, but we will also consider exceptional candidates at higher levels, including Senior Staff and Principal, who can take on broader ownership and drive impact across multiple customers and deployments. In this role, you will lead customer engagements, shape technical solutions, and ensure successful integration of our AI and autonomy products in real-world environments. You will work closely with internal engineering teams, influence product direction based on what you see in the field, and help scale best practices across deployments.
You Should Apply If:
You are excited about a travel-heavy role and enjoy being on-site with customers, including international and multi-week engagements You have experience owning complex technical engagements and can operate with a high degree of autonomy and accountability You are comfortable leading deployments, guiding customers, and influencing both technical decisions and product direction You enjoy problem solving, building relationships, and working at the intersection of engineering and real-world deployment You are passionate about autonomy, robotics, or aerospace
You Should Not Apply If:
You prefer minimal travel or want to work primarily from one location You want to do 100% R&D and do not enjoy customer interactions You have never programmed in C, C++, or Rust