ShopFloorJobs
SA

Staff Guidance & Controls Engineer (R4763)

Shield AI · Dallas, TX

Apply on Shield AI ↗
Level
Senior
Team
Controls
Degree
Required
Experience asked
5+ years
Industry
Aerospace & defense
Posted
30+ days ago

The role in 30 seconds

A senior controls role at Shield AI (aerospace & defense) in Dallas, TX. As a member of the Software Autonomy team, you will be responsible for creating and maintaining all of control and autonomy algorithms within the VBAT code base.

They ask for
5+ years · degree required
Tools it names
Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ), Robotics

Read from the posting. The full description is below.

From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026

Controls Engineer roles in Texas: typical posted base $95k–$140k.

Median of the low and high ends of 9 live postings that list pay, out of 81 controls engineer openings in Texas, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.

Texas plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →

How this role compares

Against 80 other live controls postings in Texas.

Base pay
Not listed in this posting

Typical $95k–$140k, from 8 postings that list pay.

Experience asked
More than usual (5+ vs 4+)

Similar roles usually ask 4+ years.

Skills these teams ask for most

  • PLC 84%
  • Automation 77%
  • ✓ Robotics 40%
  • EHS / safety 27%
  • ✓ Python 26%
  • New product launch 22%

✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.

It asks for 5+ years. If you're close, apply anyway: requirements are a wish list. Talk to someone doing this work there first.

At a glance

Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.

How to get in at this plant

Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.

  1. 1

    Pick 2–3 people on the Controls team at Shield AI

    Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.

  2. 2

    Send a short, curious note

    One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.

  3. 3

    Turn a reply into a short call

    Questions worth asking about this team:

    • What does a normal week look like on your team?
    • How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
  4. 4

    Apply with someone vouching for you

    If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.

  5. 5

    Bring proof to the interview

    One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.

This plant: Shield AI in Dallas

15 other open roles at this site.

All 16 roles at Shield AI →
Full description from Shield AIAs posted on their careers site.Show

Required qualifications

Typically requires a minimum of 5 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 2 years and a Master’s degree; or a PhD.

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..

Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills, with a focus on delivering user-centric software solutions.

Experience working with control systems, specifically unmanned aerial systems and/or robotics to include

Outer loop path planning / trajectory synthesis

Integrating software in a hierarchical environment

Preferred qualifications

Familiarity with continuous integration / delivery and test-driven development

Show full description ↓

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 member of the Software Autonomy team, you will be responsible for creating and maintaining all of control and autonomy algorithms within the VBAT code base. This is a full lifecycle development opportunity with algorithm development, software design and coding, unit tests, component tests, flight software qualification and flight test support. You will also be responsible for helping update and validate the simulation models as required.

Kalman filters

Bandpass filters

More Controls roles nearby