a16z Ground Control Station (GCS) Software Engineer (R4758)
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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 . Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Job Description:
We’re looking for a Software Engineer to join our team developing next-generation Ground Control Station (GCS) applications for unmanned aerial systems (UAS). This role is ideal for engineers with a strong foundation in real-time, performance-sensitive software who also bring experience with modern web technologies.
You’ll work on mission-critical software that bridges responsive user interfaces with robust backend systems, enabling human operators to plan, command, and monitor autonomous assets with precision and reliability.
What you'll do:
- Design, develop, and optimize ground control software that enables low-latency communication with UAVs and other autonomous platforms.
- Build high-performance client and server applications that support telemetry processing, mission planning, and real-time control.
- Implement responsive user interfaces with React and TypeScript for operator workflows and visualization of spatial data, sensor feeds, and mission state.
- Collaborate closely with teams across autonomy, embedded systems, backend, and UX to deliver integrated, field-ready solutions.
- Contribute to architectural decisions and system designs that ensure responsiveness, scalability, and fault-tolerance.
- Lead development efforts on key features or subsystems, from early design through deployment and iteration.
- Write high-quality, well-tested code and participate in peer design/code reviews.
Required qualifications:
- Senior: Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of relevant experience, or Masters with 4+ years, or PhD with 2+ years.
- Staff: Bachelor’s degree with 7+ years of relevant experience, or Masters with 6+ years, or PhD with 4+ years.
- Senior Staff: Bachelor’s degree with 10+ years of relevant experience, or Masters with 9+ years, or PhD with 7+ years.
- Demonstrated experience building real-time or performance-sensitive applications—preferably for UAVs, robotics, autonomous vehicles, or simulation environments.
- Proficiency in a strongly typed programming language (e.g. C#, TypeScript, Java, C++) with exposure to lower-level systems or protocol integration.
- Experience with web technologies, especially React, TypeScript/JavaScript, and Node.js.
- Strong software engineering fundamentals including version control, testing, debugging, and performance profiling.
- Proven ability to deliver high-quality software as part of a collaborative engineering team.
- Ability to obtain security clearance.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience with GCS software, mission planning tools, or real-time visualization platforms.
- Familiarity with API-driven systems using REST or gRPC, and communication protocols like WebSocket or custom telemetry formats.
- Knowledge of standards such as STANAG 4586, Cursor on Target (CoT), or MAVLink.
- Familiarity with containerized environments (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) and CI/CD practices.
- Exposure to distributed systems and cloud integration for telemetry data pipelines.
- Understanding of security best practices in control systems and networked applications.
#LI-AA1
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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.
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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.
Skills
As published by lever · 19 questions · 9 written answers
Basics
Resume/CV, Full name, Email, Phone, Current location, Current company, LinkedIn URL, Twitter URL, GitHub URL, Portfolio URL, Other website
Short answers (1)
- Please state your full legal name:
Pick from a list (9)
- Are you authorized to work in the United States?
- Will you require sponsorship for employment now or in the future?
- This position may require access to information and technology that is subject to export controls, such as EAR. Are you any of the following?
- Shield AI provides technology, services, and support to the United States military and allied forces with their various missions. If selected for employment with Shield AI, your contributions will directly relate to and/or support these missions. Are there any reasons why you would not be able to fully contribute in support of the U.S. military and allied forces?
- How did you hear about us?
- Are you a transitioning service member?
- If yes, what partnership program are you working with? optional
- Are you local to or willing to relocate? optional
- What office(s) would you be willing to relocate to? (Select all that apply) optional
Written answers (9)
- If yes, what type of sponsorship? optional
- If you selected "A protected Individual" OR "Other" to the above question, please explain further. optional
- (Optional) If you selected other or would like to expand on the above, feel free to do so below: optional
- If "Industry Conference" or "Other," please provide more details: optional
- If other, please provide further details optional
- When are you available to start your fellowship? optional
- When are you available for full time work? optional
- What full time job(s) are you applying for?
- If you selected international, what location(s)? optional