Senior Staff Autonomy Engineer, Planning (R2879)

As a Senior Staff Autonomy Engineer, Planning at Shield AI, your primary responsibilities include being the technical subject matter expert for task planning. You'll research, design, and implement advanced algorithms for autonomy frameworks, develop core systems that are portable across UAS platforms, and contribute to the enterprise SDK for autonomy development. Additionally, you'll work within an agile team to define the technical roadmap and mentor fellow engineers.

To qualify for the Senior Staff Autonomy Engineer, Planning role at Shield AI, you typically need at least 12 years of related experience with a Bachelor's degree. Alternatively, you may qualify with a Master's degree and 9 years of experience or a PhD with 7 years of relevant experience. Key qualifications also include proficiency in C++ 11 or newer in a production environment, experience with task planning and multi-agent collaborative autonomy, and a strong knowledge of modern software engineering practices.

Senior Staff Autonomy Engineers at Shield AI primarily work with C++ 11 or newer in a production environment. Additionally, familiarity with collaborative development practices such as continuous integration, delivery, and test-driven development is essential to successfully thrive in this position.

In the role of Senior Staff Autonomy Engineer, Planning, you could work on exciting projects such as developing a Multi-Agent Executive Manager for heterogeneous teams, creating algorithms to enhance autonomous operations in denied environments, and ensuring NATO interoperability for autonomous vehicles. You'll also be engaged in end-to-end simulation and testing initiatives.

At Shield AI, the work culture is supportive and collaborative. As a Senior Staff Autonomy Engineer, you'll be part of an agile team where innovation is encouraged, and strong communication skills are valued. Employees are recognized for their hard work, integrity, and supportive teamwork, contributing to a positive environment that fosters growth and creativity.

When answering this question, highlight specific experiences that showcase your expertise in task planning. Discuss projects you’ve worked on, the algorithms you've implemented, and how those contributed to successful outcomes in autonomous systems. Be sure to reflect on any collaboration with multi-agent systems, as this is a critical aspect of the role.

To effectively answer this question, outline your process for researching and developing algorithms. Include techniques you use to stay current on the latest advancements in the field. Discuss how you incorporate feedback and testing into your workflow to create robust solutions suitable for real-world application.

Discuss strategies you've employed in past projects to ensure software structure and design allow for easy portability. Mention principles such as modular design, code abstraction, and adhering to established standards. Use examples to demonstrate your capabilities in addressing challenges related to portability.

Provide a specific example that illustrates your leadership skills in driving technical initiatives. Describe the project, your role, the teams involved, and the outcome. Highlight how you coordinated efforts and fostered collaboration to achieve shared goals.

Outline the practices you implement to maintain high software engineering standards. This can include adherence to coding standards, testing protocols, code reviews, and continuous integration practices. Illustrate your commitment to quality through examples of successes you've had in ensuring robust software.

Discuss your experiences with simulation and testing methodologies, emphasizing any formal training or frameworks you're familiar with. Mention specific tools or platforms you've used and how they helped in validating the performance of autonomous systems.

Demonstrate your communication skills by sharing how you structure interactions with different teams such as engineering, product management, and external partners. Emphasize the importance of collaboration and how you ensure that all parties are aligned throughout project lifecycles.

Identify a specific challenge from your background that pertains to developing algorithms. Discuss the steps you took to overcome the obstacle, the strategies you implemented, and any adjustments made as a result of learning from your experience.

Reflect on any relevant experience you have with multi-agent systems, highlighting specific scenarios where you designed algorithms or systems to enable collaboration among agents. Discuss any performance metrics or outcomes that demonstrate the success of your work.

In your response, point out critical factors such as adaptability, real-time data processing, risk assessment, and safety protocols. Use your background to illustrate how you have integrated these factors into your approach to task planning.