Software Development Engineer - New Graduate

San Diego · Washington, D.C. · Boston · USD 77,200-211,200 / year · Onsite · Posted Oct 6, 2026

At a glance

Shield AI is seeking Autonomous Software Engineers for full-time roles starting in 2027.
This is a paid, in-person, full-time position for students graduating during the 2026-2027 academic year.

Design, implement, test, and ship C++ and/or Python features, tools, and tests alongside experienced engineers.
Write embedded firmware in C/C++ for real-time software that controls our advanced UAV while in flight.
Develop tests, reporters, and tooling in Python to validate software behavior and performance.
Develop and evaluate autonomy software across areas such as mission behavior, planning, multi-agent coordination, decision-making, platform integration, or perception.
Build unit and integration tests, run and analyze simulation or bench results, and investigate failures using logs, telemetry, traces, and debugging tools.
Support software integration across autonomy capabilities, platform/vehicle interfaces, sensors, perception products, mission compute, and operator or command-and-control systems.
Work with real and simulated data from cameras, EO/IR sensors, IMUs, GPS, radars, or other mission payloads.
Work cross-functionally with electrical and mechanical engineers to help determine and validate software requirements.
Write documentation for setup steps, interface assumptions, configuration, test procedures, and findings to make workflows repeatable.
Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and test debriefs, and take on more ownership of features and fixes over time.

Currently pursuing a Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field, graduating between December 2026 and August 2027.
Proficiency in C++ and/or Python.
Solid foundation in data structures, algorithms, and software fundamentals.
Ability to own well-scoped tasks with limited guidance and communicate progress clearly.
Must be able to work in-person full-time.

Hands-on project experience (competition team, research lab, capstone, or personal projects) involving robotics, controls, planning, computer vision, or machine learning.
Prior internship or co-op experience writing software.
Familiarity with simulation tools, ROS/ROS2, or hardware-in-the-loop/software-in-the-loop testing.
Experience with sensor data (cameras, EO/IR, IMU, GPS, radar) or multimodal AI/ML data (vision-language or vision-language-action models).
Experience writing unit/integration tests and debugging using logs or telemetry.
Comfortable working in a Linux environment and using version control (e.g., Git).
Exposure to embedded systems, real-time software, or safety-critical software practices.