Staff Engineer, Test & Evaluation Engineer
Shield AI · San Diego, CA · X-BAT Division
staff
software engineering
QA Engineer
tech_leadership
· Posted Apr 6, 2026
$141,000 – $212,000
USD per-year-salary
About this role
Shield AI is hiring a staff-level QA Engineer in the software engineering function based in San Diego, CA. The posting calls out experience with Python, Testing, Automation, Data Analytics. Compensation is listed at $141,000–$212,000 per-year-salary.
- Role
- QA Engineer
- Function
- software engineering
- Level
- staff
- Track
- Tech leadership
- Employment
- Full-time
- Location
- San Diego, CA
- Department
- X-BAT Division
- Posted
- Apr 6, 2026
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Job description
from Shield AI careersFounded 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:
Staff Engineer, Test & Evaluation Engineer role is responsible for defining, planning, and executing all integration testing phases for XBAT. This includes developmental, functional, and qualification testing for flight vehicles, subsystems, and ground support equipment.
What you'll do:
- Responsible for bringing up vehicle through functional testing and delivering the fully operational aircraft to the customer.
- Define comprehensive functional, ground, and flight test plan.
- Responsible for setting up ground support equipment and executing tests.
- Scope and sequence all testing efforts.
- The successful candidate will lead a multi-disciplinary test team, manage complex testing facilities, ensure compliance with industry standards, and drive the transition of new products from design to flight/operational readiness.
Required qualifications:
- Proven experience with clean sheet design to first flight
- Knowledge of test methodologies (e.g., DO-160, MIL-STD-810), instrumentation, data acquisition systems, and telemetry architecture.
This is an excerpt. Read the full job description on Shield AI careers →