Principal Embedded Software Architect (R3002)
San Diego Metro Area
Hivemind Product Division – Foundations /
Full Time Employee /
On-site
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent, autonomous systems. Its products include Hivemind Enterprise—EdgeOS, Pilot, Commander, and Forge—as well as V-BAT and Sentient Vision Systems (wide-area motion imaging software). With offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kyiv (Ukraine), and Melbourne (Australia), Shield AI’s technology actively supports U.S. and allied operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X and Instagram.
As a Principal Embedded Software Architect within the Hivemind Foundations (HMF) team, you will lead the development of EdgeOS, Shield AI’s embedded middleware platform. This is a pivotal technical role that blends architectural ownership with deep, hands-on software development responsibilities. Your work will directly shape how autonomy software is developed, deployed, and operated across a range of systems—from aircraft to maritime and ground vehicles. You will partner closely with the HMF Director and cross-functional leadership to define and execute the vision of EdgeOS: an extensible, developer-focused, embedded middleware designed to enable scalable autonomy solutions. You’ll be accountable for the deterministic performance, real-time behavior, and system reliability required for mission-critical applications. This is an opportunity to design and build the infrastructure that underpins autonomy—not just software, but the foundation on which next-generation autonomous systems depend.
What You'll Do:
- Architect, implement, and optimize EdgeOS middleware services focused on deterministic execution, inter-process communication (IPC), memory/resource management, and runtime orchestration
- Design and maintain developer-facing software platforms (SDKs, APIs, build systems) that abstract embedded system complexity while ensuring performance and reliability
- Act as the technical authority and principal contributor for deeply embedded, high-performance systems, ensuring low-latency responsiveness and robust fault isolation
- Collaborate extensively across autonomy product teams (e.g., Hivemind Pilot, Forge, Commander), customer engineering, and external development partners
- Lead architectural reviews, roadmap planning, and critical technical decisions impacting platform scalability and safety
- Champion and enforce software quality, modularity, code performance, and maintainability through mentorship and rigorous engineering practices.
Required Qualifications:
- 15+ years of experience building large, production-grade software systems, including:
- Proven expertise designing developer-facing tools and SDKs for embedded system integration and deployment
- Strong Linux systems knowledge and experience developing high-reliability code in resource-constrained environments
- In-depth understanding of networking protocols (UDP, TCP, routing, QoS) and the design of robust networked applications
- Familiarity with standard SDLC tools, including Git, code review systems, CI/CD, and issue tracking
- Clear record of being a high-integrity contributor: diligent, accountable, and collaborative.
A) 10+ years of advanced C++ development, with strong familiarity in modern C++ standards (C++17 and beyond).
B) Significant experience developing embedded, deterministic, real-time software platforms
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience in the aerospace, defense, or robotics industries with exposure to safety-critical systems
- Familiarity with interoperability standards in defense/autonomy contexts (e.g., STANAG4586, Mavlink)
- Exposure to cloud-connected embedded systems and integrating edge platforms with modern cloud services
- Background in technical leadership; as a team lead, staff engineer, or cross-functional architect.
$203,280 - $304,920 a year
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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.
