Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the 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.
We’re seeking a Software Engineering Manager to lead our Ground Control Station (GCS) team. In this role, you will lead a high-performing group of engineers building advanced applications for unmanned aerial systems (UAS). You will be responsible for the professional growth of your team, the technical excellence of our GCS products, and the successful delivery of mission-critical features from concept through field validation. This role is ideal for a technical leader who has a background in real-time, performance-sensitive applications and is passionate about building both great software and great teams.
WHAT YOU’LL DO:
Lead and grow a team of software engineers, providing mentorship, career development, and regular performance feedback. Oversee the planning, execution, and delivery of new features for ground control applications, ensuring projects stay on schedule and meet high standards of reliability and performance. Define the technical roadmap for GCS applications, balancing the need for rapid feature development with long-term architectural stability. Facilitate cross-functional collaboration between your team and autonomy engineers, embedded developers, UX designers, and product stakeholders to align on requirements and mission objectives. Ensure technical excellence by driving best practices in system architecture, code quality, automated testing, and performance profiling. Bridge the gap between engineering and the field: Partner with operators to gather feedback and ensure the software performs reliably under real-world mission conditions. Recruit and onboard top-tier engineering talent to scale the team’s capabilities.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years of relevant experience, or Master’s with 7+ years. This must include 2+ years of experience in a formal people management or high-level technical leadership role. Demonstrated expertise in building real-time or performance-sensitive applications (ideally for UAVs, robotics, vehicles, or simulation systems). Proficiency in (or ability to technically manage) modern web and systems languages such as TypeScript/JavaScript, Node.js, and C++. Proven track record of leading teams to ship reliable, high-quality software in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to mentor engineers and manage stakeholders. Strong understanding of the full software development life cycle, including design documentation, testing strategies, and post-release validation.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
Experience managing teams building ground control software, mission planning, or real-time visualization platforms. Experience scaling engineering teams in a high-growth or venture-backed environment. Knowledge of cloud-based or distributed architectures for telemetry and control systems. Familiarity with containerization (Docker, Kubernetes) and modern CI/CD pipelines. Understanding of cybersecurity and data link protocols in mission-critical or defense environments. 
