Manager, Software - Perception (R3770)

Shield AI is a defense-tech company developing intelligent systems, including autonomy software and unmanned aircraft, to protect service members and civilians. The Manager, Software - Perception will lead technical teams and projects developing real-time perception systems for autonomous aircraft, including object detection, sensor fusion, and state estimation. The role also involves integrating, optimizing, and validating perception solutions in simulated and real-world environments.

Responsibilities:

• Multidisciplinary Team Leadership – Lead teams across autonomy, integration, and testing by aligning technical efforts, resolving cross-functional challenges, and driving mission-focused execution. Balance hands-on technical oversight with performance optimization, innovation, and clear stakeholder communication
• Develop advanced perception algorithms — Design and implement robust algorithms for object detection, classification, and multi-target tracking across diverse sensor modalities
• Implement sensor fusion frameworks — Integrate data from vision systems, radars, and other mission sensors using probabilistic and deterministic fusion techniques to generate accurate situational awareness
• Develop state estimation capabilities — Design and refine algorithms for localization and pose estimation using IMU, GPS, vision, and other onboard sensing inputs to enable stable and accurate navigation
• Analyze and utilize sensor ICDs — Interpret interface control documents (ICDs) and technical specifications for aircraft-mounted sensors to ensure correct data handling, interpretation, and synchronization
• Optimize perception performance — Tune and evaluate perception pipelines for performance, robustness, and real-time efficiency in both simulation and real-world environments
• Support autonomy integration — Work closely with autonomy, systems, and integration teams to interface perception outputs with planning, behaviors, and decision-making modules
• Validate in simulated and operational settings — Leverage synthetic data, simulation environments, and field testing to validate algorithm accuracy and mission readiness
• Collaborate with hardware and sensor teams — Ensure seamless integration of perception algorithms with onboard compute platforms and diverse sensor payloads
• Drive innovation in airborne sensing — Contribute novel ideas and state-of-the-art techniques to advance real-time perception capabilities for unmanned aircraft operating in complex, GPS-denied, or contested environments
• Travel Requirement – Members of this team typically travel around 10-15% of the year (to different office locations, customer sites, and flight integration events)