Staff Engineer, GenAI Tooling & DevEx

About the role

Shield AI builds intelligent defense systems including Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies. This position focuses on creating and maintaining AI-powered developer tools that streamline engineering workflows across the organization. You will work directly with robotics and autonomy teams to identify friction points and build secure, repeatable tooling solutions.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Create and maintain GenAI-powered developer tools supporting C++, Python, and Node.js codebases
• Collaborate with robotics and autonomy engineers to transform cumbersome workflows into secure, AI-assisted processes
• Expand the internal GenAI harness using Python or Bash tools, secure LLM routing, audited execution paths, and local containerized setups
• Build connections between GitLab, Jira, Confluence, and internal systems to give GenAI tools relevant engineering context
• Enhance build, test, and development environment workflows, including AI-assisted rollout of reproducible Nix environments
• Help engineers adopt GenAI tools through documentation, working examples, troubleshooting support, and iterative improvements based on feedback

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field, or equivalent hands-on experience
• Proficient in AI-assisted development, able to pair with AI tools for ideation, code generation, debugging, and rapid prototyping
• Direct experience building LLM-powered tools for software development
• Scripting ability in Bash and Python, plus experience with webhooks and APIs to automate tools like Jira, Confluence, and GitLab
• Hands-on work with containerization (Docker, multi-stage builds) and package managers (Conan, Poetry, or Nix)
• Familiarity with deploying and managing workloads in cloud environments such as Azure Gov Cloud or AWS
• Knowledge of secure development practices, secret management, and identity providers (Active Directory, Entra ID)
• Ability to obtain and maintain an active U.S. SECRET security clearance (U.S. citizenship required)

Nice to have

• Practical experience building, maintaining, and scaling enterprise CI/CD systems
• Background developing tools in CUI and ITAR environments
• Expertise tuning LLMs for specialized applications
• Familiarity deploying custom LLMs

Skills & tools

• Python, Bash, C++, Node.js
• Docker, multi-stage builds
• Conan, Poetry, Nix
• GitLab, Jira, Confluence
• Azure Gov Cloud, AWS
• Active Directory, Entra ID
• LLM tooling and integration

Practical notes

• U.S. citizenship required for security clearance eligibility
• Compensation includes base salary plus bonus, benefits, and equity for full-time employees
• Temporary employees receive benefits after 60 days of employment
• All offers contingent on cleared background check and possible reference check
• Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits
• Shield AI operates across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific