Senior C++ Engineer – Foundations (R6023)
On-site San Diego Full-time Senior Backend Engineering
At a glance
Senior Backend Engineering role at Shield AI. San Diego · full-time · $120,000–$190,000 base.
SalaryStated by Shield AI
$120,000 – $190,000
Base salary for this role, in USD per year, as published in the posting.
RoleBackend Engineering
SenioritySenior
LocationSan Diego
WorkplaceOn-site
EmploymentFull-time
Base pay$120,000–$190,000
PostedOct 3, 2026
Role brief
techroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Shape and build key features in EdgeOS and EdgeOS RT middleware
- Create runtime services for Linux, real-time operating systems and computing platforms with limited resources
- Build tools that let engineers assess, inspect and troubleshoot autonomous systems
- Extend EdgeOS Language to define data across autonomous systems, agents and external systems
- Guide work through reviews, documentation and mentorship, partnering with engineering teams from design through integration
What you bring
- A related degree and relevant experience: typically seven years with a bachelor’s, six with a master’s, four with a PhD or equivalent work experience
- You have used C++11 or later in production and can design and debug multithreaded software
- You have built software for real-time operating systems and embedded platforms
- You understand concurrency, memory use, resource limits and performance tuning, and have written automated tests and technical documentation
Who this fits
This senior engineering role suits someone focused on C++ systems software, middleware and embedded or real-time platforms. It is based on-site in San Diego. Offers require a cleared background check and may include reference checks.
From the employer
Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and 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.
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.
Job Description:
Shield AI is seeking a Senior Engineer to help design and develop the middleware framework upon which Shield AI autonomy is developed. As part of the Hivemind Foundations team, you’ll focus on building the high-performant, reliable, and robust foundational layer of the Hivemind SDK, EdgeOS. The Hivemind Foundations team ensures that autonomous systems have the functionality required to deploy to platforms operating in some of the most restrictive and demanding environments around the world. They also create the tools that enable autonomy engineers develop, understand, debug, and rapidly iterate on complex autonomous systems.
What you'll do:
- Own the architecture and implementation of features critical to EdgeOS and EdgeOS RT middleware.
- Develop runtime services and abstractions that operate across Linux, real-time operating system, and resource-constrained computing platforms.
- Design and develop the tooling used to evaluate, observe, and debug autonomous systems.
- Contribute to and extend EdgeOS Language, Hivemind’s interface definition language, which defines how data is represented within autonomous systems, between agents, and with third-party systems.
- Collaborate closely with autonomy, systems, simulation, and test engineers to deliver capabilities from initial design to integration.
- Raise the engineering bar though design and code reviews, technical guidance, documentation, and mentorship.
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
- Typically requires a minimum of 7 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 6 years with a Master’s; or 4 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.
- Strong proficiency in C++11 or newer in a production environment.
- Experience designing, developing, and debugging multithreaded systems.
- Experience developing software for real time operating systems and embedded platforms.
- Strong understanding of systems programming concepts, including concurrency, memory management, resource constraints, and performance optimization.
- Experience writing automated tests and clear technical documentation.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience with C++17 or newer standards.
- Experience writing MISRA C++ or comparable coding standards for safety-critical or airborne systems.
- Experience with systems engineering design principles and requirements.
- Experience software assurance frameworks such as DO-178C.
- Familiarity with ROS2 or similar robotics frameworks.
- Experience with interface definition languages, serialization systems, or code-generation tooling.
- Knowledge of CMake and Nix build systems.
- Experience profiling and debugging complex software across multiple hardware and operating-system environments.
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.
Backend Engineering work from LinkedIn, X, Reddit and Upwork, in one list.
Each morning you get everything that fits, strongest first.
Backend Engineering$120k+
Find me workBy the team behind techroles.