Senior Engineer (XBAT Simulation Modeling)

• The Aircraft Simulation team turns frontier autonomy into mission-ready aircraft. We own the commit-to-flight pipeline—deterministic aircraft and mission simulation, HITL/SITL integration, CI/CD, and tooling for automated flight qualification testing. Our goal is simple: make AI fly—safely, reliably, and fast
• As a Senior Modeling & Simulation Engineer, you will be dedicated to Shield AI’s next-generation aircraft program, contributing to our modeling and simulation tooling pipeline
• You’ll design, build, and scale novel aircraft subsystem models, develop infrastructure that enables automated testing for our XBAT product line, and perform verification and validation of simulation pipelines. You will also conduct system performance analysis to evaluate expected and actual flight and mission performance using simulation tools and publish results for consumption by customers
• Develop models and infrastructure for the integrated simulation pipeline in C++
• Design deterministic, high-performance simulation tools capable of faster-than-real-time execution for development, testing, and release
• Implement test scenarios and write unit, system, and regression tests
• Collaborate across autonomy, embedded, GNC, and test engineering to ensure the simulation mirrors real aircraft behavior and mission scenarios
• Contribute to platform-agnostic simulation tooling to accelerate future development efforts
• Perform verification and validation (V&V) analysis activities on model tools
• Conduct system performance analysis and generate reports and visualizations
• Utilize best practices in C++, simulation architecture, and performance engineering

Benefits

• Excellent Medical Coverage
• Mental Health Employee Assistance Program
• Paid Parental Leave
• Pet Insurance
• Flexible Work Hours
• Onsite Gym (DC)
• Gym Discount (San Diego)
• Free Parking
• Competitive Compensation
• Stock Benefits
• 401K Services and Match- Experience with software testing tools (GTest, etc.)
• Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired
• Strong collaboration and communication skills across software, hardware, and systems disciplines
• Ability to debug complex build and runtime environments (CMake, CPM, package management, logging, & profiling tools)
• BS or MS in Computer Science, Aerospace, Robotics, or related field
• Strong understanding of rigid-body dynamics, kinematics, and basic flight and sensor mechanics
• 5+ years of experience in software development, with emphasis on modern C++ (C++17 or later) and performance optimization
• Experience with model V&V
• Proven experience developing or integrating simulation systems for robotics, aerospace, or autonomous systems
• Grasp of real-time and deterministic software design, including multi-threading, synchronization, and memory management
• Experience with DevOps-integrated simulation workflows, including CI/CD and automated hardware testing environments
• Working knowledge of Python for data analysis, test automation, or simulation orchestration
• Familiarity with aircraft and flight physics modeling