Senior Software Engineer, Networking & OS (R5488)

Shield AI logo

Shield AI

Dallas , Texas , United States
embedded systems embedded Linux Yocto
Apply Now Posted Sept. 12, 2026 Please mention FPGAjobs in your application — it helps a lot!
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. 

Job Description:

As a Senior Software Engineer (Networking & OS) on V-BAT, you will be instrumental in designing, implementing, and optimizing the network infrastructure for our Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) which is deployed in some of the most challenging environments worldwide. V-BAT is designed to operate in contested, GNSS-denied airspace, and our network must maintain highly reliable, secure, and efficient communication between all air and ground devices.   

What you'll do:

  • Design and build custom, resilient Layer 2 / Layer 3 network topologies optimized specifically for V-BAT mission profiles, focusing on device isolation, dynamic traffic management, and transmitting traffic across multiple links. 

  • Implement networking features directly on embedded Linux operating systems, including custom routing, TUN/TAP interfaces, user-space tunnels, and socket-level applications. 

  • Work backward from operator capabilities to build bandwidth-optimized, low-latency communication paths over lossy or constrained radio and satellite links. 

  • Write clean, production-grade C, C++, or Python code to build things like software-defined network interfaces, traffic shaping policies, and link failover mechanisms. 

  • Partner with software engineers, hardware engineers, and field operators to validate end-to-end network performance in both hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) labs and flight test environments. 

Required qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of relevant experience, or Master’s with 4+ years, or PhD with 2+ years. 

  • Strong proficiency writing software in C, C++, or Python in a Linux environment, with a track record of shipping software that interacts directly with the OS networking stack. 

  • Deep understanding of Linux networking fundamentals (netlink, IP route/tables, iptables/nftables, TUN/TAP interfaces, Linux network namespaces, and socket programming). 

  • Solid grasp of Layer 2 and Layer 3 network fundamentals, custom routing protocols, VLAN tagging, QoS/traffic management, and VPN/tunneling mechanisms (e.g., OpenVPN, GRE, IPsec, or custom user-space tunnels). 

  • Practical experience troubleshooting network degradation using low-level tools (e.g., tcpdump, wireshark, iproute2, iperf) in lossy, high-latency, or bandwidth-constrained environments. 

  • Proven track record of successfully shipping products, showcasing the ability to navigate through development cycles, overcome obstacles, and deliver high-quality solutions to meet project deadlines and exceed expectations in a fast-paced environment. 

  • Ability to obtain security clearance.
Preferred qualifications:

  • Experience developing embedded Linux networking applications using build systems like Yocto or OS-level customization tools. 

  • Experience working with RF and other hardware engineers to design network protocols and topologies which are tailored for a novel radio network design. 

  • Experience architecting network solutions for robotics, autonomous vehicles, aerospace, or edge computing hardware. 

  • Familiarity with network security, public key infrastructure (PKI), and cryptographic tunnels in embedded systems. 

Hiring for this role?

Claim and feature it — priority homepage placement, your logo, and a slot in the jobs newsletter.

Claim and feature this job

Related openings