Staff Engineer, Computer Vision

Shield AI is a venture-backed defence technology company building intelligent autonomous systems for aircraft. Our mission is to protect service members and civilians through AI and autonomy.
Founded in 2015, Shield AI’s flagship autonomy software, Hivemind, powers aircraft, drones, and other platforms to perform complex missions with high reliability in contested environments.
For more information, visit www.shield.ai and follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

What You'll Do:

• Integrate Shield AI’s autonomous software with mission systems delivering perception and computer vision outputs.
• Write production-grade C++ software for perception integration and autonomous operations.
• Develop and implement test code and analytics to validate algorithms and ensure code quality.
• Collaborate with hardware and test teams to validate perception systems on aerial platforms.
• Enhance and extend sensor models within high-fidelity simulation environments.
• Analyse system performance by developing tools to ingest and evaluate real-world and simulated data.
• Work in a fast-paced, collaborative, continuous development environment, supporting mission-critical outcomes.

What You'll Bring:

• Significant recent experience in software engineering or perception development.
• Strong C++ software development experience in production environments.
• Ability to develop, debug, benchmark, and deploy algorithms effectively.
• Solid theoretical foundation in controls, state estimation, and computer vision.
• Hands-on experience integrating and working with sensor payloads, particularly in defence or aerospace environments.
• Proven problem-solving skills using scientific approaches.
• Comfortable working in Unix/Linux environments.

Bonus Points For:

• Experience with robotics and autonomous behaviour development, including task planning and allocation.
• Hands-on experience with OpenCV or similar computer vision libraries.
• Development of object detection and recognition pipelines.
• Familiarity with unmanned systems and autonomy algorithms, especially in the air domain.
• Experience working with high-fidelity simulation and sensor modelling tools.

Why Shield AI?

• Work on mission-critical AI and autonomy systems solving real-world defence and security challenges.
• Join a high-performing, collaborative engineering team working at the cutting edge of technology.
• Enjoy a flexible, supportive work environment - our office is located in Port Melbourne, close to Melbourne CBD.
• Salary + equity for permanent roles, with flexible working options available.

Help us redefine what’s possible in autonomous defence — apply today!
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, colour, 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.