Staff Engineer, Modeling & Simulation (R4869)
Summary
Job Description
The Aircraft Simulation team turns frontier autonomy into mission-ready aircraft. We own the commit-to-flight pipeline—deterministic aircraft and mission simulation, HITL/SITL integration, CI/CD, and tooling for automated flight qualification testing. Our goal is simple: make AI fly—safely, reliably, and fast.
As a Staff Modeling & Simulation Engineer, you will be dedicated to Shield AI’s next-generation aircraft program, contributing to our emergent modeling & simulation tooling. You’ll design, build, and scale novel aircraft subsystem models, develop infrastructure that enables robust automated testing for our next generation XBAT product line, and conduct system performance analysis.
What you'll do:
- Develop models and infrastructure for the integrated simulation pipeline in C++.
- Design deterministic, high-performance simulation tools capable of faster-than-real-time execution for development, testing, and release.
- Implement test scenarios and write unit, system, and regression tests.
- Collaborate across autonomy, embedded, GNC, and test engineering to ensure the simulation mirrors real aircraft behavior and mission scenarios.
- Contribute to platform-agnostic simulation tooling to accelerate current and future aircraft design and development efforts.
- Perform verification and validation (V&V) analysis activities on modeling tools.
- Conduct system performance analysis and generate reports and visualizations.
- Utilize best practices in C++, simulation architecture, and performance engineering.
Required qualifications:
- BS or MS in Computer Science, Aerospace, Robotics, or related field.
- 7+ years of experience in simulation software development, with emphasis on modern C++ (C++17 or later) and performance optimization.
- Strong understanding of rigid-body dynamics, kinematics, aerodynamics, and sensor mechanics.
- Proven experience developing or integrating simulation systems for robotics, aerospace, and/or autonomous systems.
- Ability to debug complex build and runtime environments (CMake, package management, logging, and profiling tools).
- Experience with software testing tools (GTest, etc.)
- Experience with simulation V&V.
- Strong collaboration and communication skills across software, hardware, and systems disciplines.
- Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired.
Preferred qualifications:
- Grasp of real-time and deterministic software design, including multi-threading, synchronization, and memory management.
- Experience with DevOps-integrated simulation workflows, including CI/CD and automated hardware testing environments.
- Working knowledge of Python for data analysis, test automation, or simulation orchestration.
- Familiarity with aircraft and flight physics modeling.
Similar Jobs
V-BAT Internal Training Instructor (R5023)
Dallas, Texas • Jun 14
The V-BAT Internal Training Instructor is responsible for executing and maintaining standardized training for Shield AI Aircraft Operators and Maintenance...
Technician 3, Quality Systems Engineering (R4956)
Dallas, Texas • Jun 14
Join a team dedicated to building quality and reliability into advanced products from the ground up. In this role, you...
Technician 4, Quality Engineering (R4959)
Dallas, Texas • Jun 14
Join a high-impact quality engineering team supporting the development and validation of next-generation autonomous systems. This role works closely with...