principal software engineering Principal Engineer tech_leadership · Posted May 19, 2026
$200,000 – $300,000
USD per-year-salary

About this role

Shield AI is hiring a principal-level Principal Engineer in the software engineering function based in San Diego, CA. The posting calls out experience with System Design, Testing, Performance Optimization. Compensation is listed at $200,000–$300,000 per-year-salary.

Role
Principal Engineer
Function
software engineering
Level
principal
Track
Tech leadership
Employment
Full-time
Location
San Diego, CA
Department
Hivemind Platform Division
Posted
May 19, 2026

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Job description

from Shield AI careers
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

Job Description:

Shield AI’s Hivemind Platform organization is seeking a Principal Systems Engineer to lead and scale systems engineering excellence across our software-intensive, autonomy-driven platform. This role sits within the Systems Engineering, Integration, and Test (SEIT) organization and is responsible for advancing systems engineering discipline, rigor, and cross-functional alignment across the full lifecycle, from requirements definition through architecture, verification, and assurance.

This individual will play a critical role in shaping how complex autonomous system development capabilities are specified, architected, and validated, with a strong emphasis on model-based systems engineering (MBSE), requirements traceability, and integration of system assurance (including safety) into system design.

What You’ll Do:

  • Systems Engineering Discipline Leadership: Drive the adoption and enforcement of systems engineering best practices across the organization, serving as a technical authority and trusted partner to engineering leadership.
  • This is an excerpt. Read the full job description on Shield AI careers →
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