Software Applications Engineer
Posted 18 Apr 2026
Advertised as “Staff Engineer, Software Autonomy Applications (R4830)”
BranchFactor Summary
The original posting with the fluff stripped out
- Level
- R4830
- Expected experience
- 5+ yrs
- Management level
- Individual contributor
- Employment
- Hybrid
No salary listed for this role.
Field of studyComputer Science, Engineering (or related)
Study levelBachelor's or higher
Field of studyAutonomy, Robotics
Study levelMaster's
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.
Job Description:
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.
In this role, you will work closely with customers to understand their requirements, provide technical expertise and customer support during deployment, and ensure successful integration of Hivemind. You’ll also collaborate internally with engineering teams to develop and test new autonomy capabilities.
This role is travel-intensive, with frequent trips, often international, and sometimes lasting multiple weeks, to work directly alongside customers on-site.
What you'll do:
- Deploy with customers on site globally (~50% travel) to support software integration and development activities.
- Become an expert user of the Hivemind enterprise software stack and its various autonomy modules.
- Provide technical support and training to customers on use of Hivemind.
- Develop AI & Autonomy applications using the Shield AI enterprise software development kit.
- Assist the sales team in pre-sales activities, e.g., demos, conferences, immersions
- Assist in post-sales deployment and integration of Shield AI enterprise software products.
- Develop and maintain technical documentation and training materials.
- Help customers debug software/API integration issues.
- Collaborate with the product engineering team to address customer feedback and improve products.
- Act as a technical leader across engagements by elevating team performance, driving execution across cross-functional teams, and ensuring successful delivery in complex environments.