Principal Engineer, Software Architect (R4562)

Shield AI, Dallas, Texas

What you will do

Define and evolve the system‑wide software architecture for XBAT, spanning airborne vehicle, ground station, and autonomy layers.
Translate safety and security goals into technical requirements, standards, and design patterns that guide engineers across multiple software teams.
Ensure architecture supports safety‑critical and cyber‑relevant workflows. This includes formalizing architecture decisions, traceability, and compliance pathways appropriate for advanced airborne systems.
Drive cross‑team alignment on APIs, data flows, fault handling, verification strategy, and risk management so mission, vehicle, and autonomy components integrate cleanly.
Partner with engineering leadership, system architects, and validation teams to balance innovation speed with rigorous assurance practices.
Set technical direction for long‑term scalability: modularity, maintainability, testability, and support for future capability growth or certification needs.

Posted pay

$216K–$323K

a year

This base pay is above the median for principal software engineering jobs in other US places.

We compare the middle of each posted range. This is base pay as posted. The group does not include this job.

Location

Dallas, Texas

Work type

Onsite

Level

Principal

Posted

Feb 13, 2026

Last check

3 h ago

Job type

Software engineering

What you will do

Define and evolve the system‑wide software architecture for XBAT, spanning airborne vehicle, ground station, and autonomy layers.
Translate safety and security goals into technical requirements, standards, and design patterns that guide engineers across multiple software teams.
Ensure architecture supports safety‑critical and cyber‑relevant workflows. This includes formalizing architecture decisions, traceability, and compliance pathways appropriate for advanced airborne systems.
Drive cross‑team alignment on APIs, data flows, fault handling, verification strategy, and risk management so mission, vehicle, and autonomy components integrate cleanly.
Partner with engineering leadership, system architects, and validation teams to balance innovation speed with rigorous assurance practices.
Set technical direction for long‑term scalability: modularity, maintainability, testability, and support for future capability growth or certification needs.