Engineering Jobs at Shield AI with Visa Sponsorship
Engineering jobs at Shield AI span software, hardware, autonomy, and embedded systems for autonomous defense applications. The company sponsors several work authorization pathways, making it a realistic target for international engineers with specialized technical backgrounds in aerospace or defense-adjacent fields.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
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.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The Hivemind Development Platform team seeks to improve the development velocity of Hivemind teams and customers by building the core tooling, package management, build systems, and developer workflows used across the Hivemind SDK ecosystem. This team owns the customer-facing developer experience for installing, building, packaging, releasing, and consuming Hivemind SDK components.
The team owns a standardized package manager built within Nix that is used to ship the SDK and enable customers to build their own packages against the SDK. This includes ownership of SDK package definitions, reproducible toolchains, target platforms, package distribution, developer environments, and the CLI experience. This also includes ownership of the licensing mechanism for developer seats and edge devices.
The Hivemind Development Platform Manager will lead this team as they work with product teams, internal engineers, and customers to identify friction in SDK development workflows and turn those needs into scalable product-facing platform features and self-service capabilities. These decisions impact all Hivemind SDK users, both internal and external.
WHAT YOU'LL DO:
- Lead and grow the Hivemind Development Platform team - coach and develop engineers, manage performance, and foster a culture of technical excellence, user empathy, ownership, and continuous improvement.
- Set strategic direction for the Hivemind developer platform, in partnership with Product, Architecture, Software Operations and engineering leadership.
- Own the developer platform roadmap, including SDK package management, Nix-based build infrastructure, developer environments, toolchains, target platforms, package distribution, and release workflows.
- Own the customer-facing SDK developer experience, including how users install the SDK, activate licenses, pull packages, build their own packages, and integrate with supported target platforms.
- Drive cross-functional collaboration with Pilot, EdgeOS, Forge, SoftOps, and customer-facing teams to understand friction points and convert them into clear platform requirements.
- Oversee architecture decisions for the standardized Hivemind package manager, CLI, package repository services, toolchain definitions, and reproducible build environments.
- Ensure the platform supports multi-language SDK development across C++, Python, Go, and TypeScript.
- Define metrics and signals for SDK developer productivity, package reliability, build reproducibility, release quality, and customer adoption.
- Represent the voice of SDK developers in engineering planning by championing ease-of-use, reproducibility, reliability, and clear ownership across the Hivemind ecosystem.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- 10+ years of experience in Software Engineering, Platform Engineering, Developer Infrastructure, or equivalent engineering roles
- 3+ years of people leadership experience
- Strong understanding of C++, Linux, CMake, build systems, and software packaging
- Experience with Nix, reproducible builds, hermetic development environments, or similar package/build systems
- Experience building or operating developer tools, SDK infrastructure, CI/CD systems, or internal platforms used by engineering teams
- Strong technical judgment and ability to guide architecture across complex multi-team systems
- B.S. or Master’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
- You are organized and methodical
- You have a demonstrated record of working hard, being a trustworthy teammate, holding yourself and others to high standards, and being kind to others
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Deep experience with Nix, flakes, binary caches, remote builders, cross-compilation, or custom Linux target platforms
- Experience building production-ready developer tools, package managers, SDKs, CLIs, or artifact distribution systems from scratch
- Experience with Python, Go, TypeScript, npm, or multi-language package ecosystems
- Experience with AWS public cloud infrastructure
- Experience with license-gated, entitlement-based, or export-controlled software distribution
- Experience with software telemetry
- Experience with drones, robotics, autonomous vehicles, embedded systems, or safety-critical software
- Experience in DevOps, DevEx, Build & Release, or Platform Engineering roles with hands-on implementation experience
COMPENSATION
- Salary Range: $160,000 - $240,000 a year
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.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
INTRODUCTION
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.
JOB DESCRIPTION
The Hivemind Development Platform team seeks to improve the development velocity of Hivemind teams and customers by building the core tooling, package management, build systems, and developer workflows used across the Hivemind SDK ecosystem. This team owns the customer-facing developer experience for installing, building, packaging, releasing, and consuming Hivemind SDK components.
The team owns a standardized package manager built within Nix that is used to ship the SDK and enable customers to build their own packages against the SDK. This includes ownership of SDK package definitions, reproducible toolchains, target platforms, package distribution, developer environments, and the CLI experience. This also includes ownership of the licensing mechanism for developer seats and edge devices.
The Hivemind Development Platform Manager will lead this team as they work with product teams, internal engineers, and customers to identify friction in SDK development workflows and turn those needs into scalable product-facing platform features and self-service capabilities. These decisions impact all Hivemind SDK users, both internal and external.
WHAT YOU'LL DO:
- Lead and grow the Hivemind Development Platform team - coach and develop engineers, manage performance, and foster a culture of technical excellence, user empathy, ownership, and continuous improvement.
- Set strategic direction for the Hivemind developer platform, in partnership with Product, Architecture, Software Operations and engineering leadership.
- Own the developer platform roadmap, including SDK package management, Nix-based build infrastructure, developer environments, toolchains, target platforms, package distribution, and release workflows.
- Own the customer-facing SDK developer experience, including how users install the SDK, activate licenses, pull packages, build their own packages, and integrate with supported target platforms.
- Drive cross-functional collaboration with Pilot, EdgeOS, Forge, SoftOps, and customer-facing teams to understand friction points and convert them into clear platform requirements.
- Oversee architecture decisions for the standardized Hivemind package manager, CLI, package repository services, toolchain definitions, and reproducible build environments.
- Ensure the platform supports multi-language SDK development across C++, Python, Go, and TypeScript.
- Define metrics and signals for SDK developer productivity, package reliability, build reproducibility, release quality, and customer adoption.
- Represent the voice of SDK developers in engineering planning by championing ease-of-use, reproducibility, reliability, and clear ownership across the Hivemind ecosystem.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- 10+ years of experience in Software Engineering, Platform Engineering, Developer Infrastructure, or equivalent engineering roles
- 3+ years of people leadership experience
- Strong understanding of C++, Linux, CMake, build systems, and software packaging
- Experience with Nix, reproducible builds, hermetic development environments, or similar package/build systems
- Experience building or operating developer tools, SDK infrastructure, CI/CD systems, or internal platforms used by engineering teams
- Strong technical judgment and ability to guide architecture across complex multi-team systems
- B.S. or Master’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
- You are organized and methodical
- You have a demonstrated record of working hard, being a trustworthy teammate, holding yourself and others to high standards, and being kind to others
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Deep experience with Nix, flakes, binary caches, remote builders, cross-compilation, or custom Linux target platforms
- Experience building production-ready developer tools, package managers, SDKs, CLIs, or artifact distribution systems from scratch
- Experience with Python, Go, TypeScript, npm, or multi-language package ecosystems
- Experience with AWS public cloud infrastructure
- Experience with license-gated, entitlement-based, or export-controlled software distribution
- Experience with software telemetry
- Experience with drones, robotics, autonomous vehicles, embedded systems, or safety-critical software
- Experience in DevOps, DevEx, Build & Release, or Platform Engineering roles with hands-on implementation experience
COMPENSATION
- Salary Range: $160,000 - $240,000 a year
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.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
See all Engineering Jobs at Shield AI
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Engineering Jobs at Shield AI
Obtain Security Clearance Eligibility Early
Many Shield AI Engineering roles require or strongly prefer candidates who can obtain a U.S. security clearance. Only U.S. citizens and certain permanent residents qualify, so if you're on a nonimmigrant visa, target roles explicitly marked clearance-not-required.
Align Your Degree to Defense-Specific Disciplines
Shield AI's Engineering hires lean heavily toward autonomy, robotics, embedded systems, and aerospace engineering. A degree in one of these fields strengthens your H-1B specialty occupation case and signals direct relevance to hiring managers reviewing defense-focused technical roles.
Filter Open Roles by Visa Eligibility on Migrate Mate
Shield AI posts Engineering roles across multiple teams, but not all positions are open to sponsored candidates. Use Migrate Mate to filter specifically for Shield AI Engineering jobs that match your current visa type and work authorization status.
Start OPT Applications Before Your Program Ends
F-1 students targeting Shield AI should file for OPT with USCIS up to 90 days before graduation. Defense contractors move carefully through background checks, so a delayed work authorization start date can cost you the offer window.
Prepare for a Longer Employer PERM Timeline
If Shield AI pursues a Green Card for you via EB-2 or EB-3, the PERM labor certification process through DOL typically takes one to two years before the I-140 petition is even filed. Factor this into your long-term status planning from day one.
Address Export Control Requirements in Your Application
Aerospace and defense employers like Shield AI must comply with ITAR export control regulations, which sometimes restrict certain engineering roles to U.S. persons. Ask recruiters directly whether a role has ITAR restrictions before investing time in the interview process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Shield AI sponsor H-1B visas for Engineers?
Shield AI has sponsored employment-based visas including H-1B visa for qualifying Engineering roles, though not every position is eligible. Defense contractors are subject to ITAR export control rules, which can limit some technical roles to U.S. persons. Confirm visa eligibility directly with the recruiter for each specific role before proceeding through the interview process.
How do I apply for Engineering jobs at Shield AI?
Applications go through Shield AI's careers page, where Engineering roles are organized by team, such as autonomy, software, hardware, and systems engineering. You can also browse Shield AI Engineering positions filtered by visa sponsorship type on Migrate Mate, which helps you identify which open roles are realistically accessible based on your current work authorization status.
Which visa types are commonly used for Engineering roles at Shield AI?
Shield AI has sponsored F-1 OPT, F-1 CPT, TN visa, J-1 visa, and employment-based immigrant visa categories including EB-2 and EB-3 for Engineering positions. TN visa is available for Canadian and Mexican nationals in qualifying engineering occupations. Immigrant visa sponsorship typically comes after an initial period of employment on a nonimmigrant status.
What qualifications are expected for Engineering roles at Shield AI?
Shield AI Engineering roles typically require a bachelor's degree or higher in a technical field such as computer science, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, robotics, or a closely related discipline. Roles on the autonomy and machine learning teams often require graduate-level experience. Practical experience with defense systems, embedded platforms, or autonomous vehicles strengthens your profile significantly in a competitive candidate pool.
How does the visa sponsorship timeline work when joining Shield AI as an Engineer?
If you're transitioning from F-1 OPT, your employer needs to file an H-1B petition before your OPT expires, with the H-1B cap lottery occurring each April for an October 1 start date. Shield AI's background check and onboarding process in the defense sector can run longer than typical tech employers, so building lead time into your authorization timeline matters considerably.