Shield AI logo

Senior Staff Engineer, Discrete Planning

Shield AI

On-site
San Diego, CA
Full-time
Senior
Staff
4+ yrs
Salary not listedPosted 3w ago

Real job — pulled straight from Shield AI’s careers page · Verified July 25, 2026 · No reposts.

Job description

Shield AI is hiring a Senior Staff Engineer, Discrete Planning — a full-time, based in San Diego, CA role. Apply directly on Shield AI's careers page below.

Senior Staff Engineer, Discrete Planning (R5440)

Team: Pilot

Location: San Diego, California, United States

Commitment: Full Time Employee

Workplace Type: remote

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 www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedInXInstagram, and YouTube. 

Job Description:

The Discrete Planning Group is a part of the Autonomy Team for Hivemind Enterprise Product. The group is an agile set of engineers focused on researching and developing state-of-the-art algorithms that drive intelligent and confidence-inspiring flight behaviors while accounting for an uncertain and dynamic world. As a member of the group, you will work at the intersection of artificial intelligence, discrete optimization, and motion planning. You will architect and write high-quality software for core systems, set standards for software engineering, refine technical requirements, drive strategic technical improvements, and mentor other engineers.

What you'll do:

  • Research, design, and implement state-of-the-art algorithms for optimal task allocation, scheduling and temporal sequencing of heterogeneous teams of autonomous vehicles (land, air, other). 
  • Solidify and improve existing C++ based mission planning software applicable across disparate vehicle types and compute platforms. 
  • Work with our engineers, program managers, and product managers to define a technical roadmap for future autonomy solutions and SDK offerings. 

Projects you might work on:

  • Breakdown a mission into assignable tasks based on agent capabilities such as navigating in contested and denied environments and adapting to mission changes in real-time. 
  • Construct feasible and optimal action plans for distributed teams of autonomous vehicles that also minimize human operator workload.
  • Full software and hardware-in-the-loop simulation of complex multi-agent missions. 

Required qualifications:

  • Typically requires a PhD with graduate work in Optimization or Operations Research. Master’s degree with 4 or more years of work in the same areas. 
  • Expert in Integer or Mixed Integer Linear Programming, Constraint Programming, Convex Optimization, Multi-Objective-Optimization and using established solvers such as Gurobi, Google-OR, CPLEX etc. 
  • Significant experience in implementing algorithms in C++ and using debuggers such as gdb to troubleshoot execution within a multi-threaded environment. 

Ways to stand out:

  • Past publications on Optimization(google scholar profile). 
#LI-KC3
#LE

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.
 
###
 
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. 

Get Senior Staff Engineer, Discrete Planning jobs like this

New roles from thousands of companies land hourly, straight from their careers pages. Get the freshest matches by email so you never miss one.

Email me new jobs
HiFly Labs logo

Senior Cloud Data Engineer

Budapest, HU
✓ From careers page· 10m ago
XTEND logo

Guidance Engineer

Tel Aviv, IL
✓ From careers page· 12m ago
EVERSANA logo

Senior DevOps Engineer

Northshore, MA
✓ From careers page· 23m ago
EVERSANA logo

Senior Salesforce Developer (Health Cloud & AI)

Remote · India, Remote
✓ From careers page· 25m ago

Frequently asked questions

What skills are required for Senior Staff Engineer, Discrete Planning at Shield AI?

The required skills for Senior Staff Engineer, Discrete Planning at Shield AI include: C++.

What is the seniority level for Senior Staff Engineer, Discrete Planning at Shield AI?

Senior Staff Engineer, Discrete Planning at Shield AI is a Senior / Staff level position.

How do I apply for Senior Staff Engineer, Discrete Planning at Shield AI?

You can view the full description and apply for Senior Staff Engineer, Discrete Planning at Shield AI on EchoJobs: https://echojobs.io/job/shield-ai-senior-staff-engineer-discrete-planning-r5440-smwuy.