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, visitwww.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI onLinkedIn,X,Instagram, andYouTube.

Job Description:

We are seeking aSenior Software Engineer, Embedded Linux Platformto help build and own the operating system and software platform that turns our edgecomputehardware into reliable, deployable autonomous systems.

This role sits at the boundary between hardware and application software. You will own the Linux platform and software delivery foundations of our edge compute systems, from hardware bring-up and operating system configuration through reproducible builds, packaging,deploymentand operation in the field.

NixOSis our primary deployed operating system and a core technology for this role.You will help evolve andmaintainourNixOS-based platform, while also supporting and improving other Linux distributions and environments used across our edge systems. You will develop C++ software and platform tooling, package software and hardware dependencies, integrate vendor BSPs and drivers, and ensure we can reliably build,configureand deploy complete systems across our supported hardware and Linux environments.

Youdon'tneed to already be aNixOSexpert. We are looking for strong software engineers with experience in Linux systems, embedded Linux or adjacent platform technologies who are interested in developing deepexpertiseinNixOS. Experience withNixOSis highly valued, as is experience with technologies such asYocto,Buildroot,



Debian/Ubuntu or other Linux build and distribution systems.

The goal is simple:make the path from hardware to deployed software reproducible,reliableand predictable.

What you'll do:

- Own and evolve the Linux platforms deployed across our edge compute systems, with NixOS as a primary focus.
- Build and maintain operating system images, configurations and software environments for production hardware across multiple Linux distributions.
- Evolve and maintain our NixOS platform, including system configuration, packaging and integration of application and hardware dependencies.
- Develop C++ and Rust systems software and platform tooling that supports the operation, configuration and deployment and updating of our edge systems.
- Integrate and maintain vendor BSPs, Linux kernels, device trees, drivers, and hardware-specific dependencies.
- Package application software, system components and third-party dependencies using Nix and other platform-appropriate mechanisms.
- Define clean interfaces between the operating system, hardware platform and application software so application teams can build on stable and well-supported foundations.
- Diagnose challenging problems across application software, userspace Linux, the kernel, drivers and hardware interfaces.
- Work closely with application, autonomy, perception, hardware and test engineers to integrate new capabilities and hardware into the platform.Improve the developer experience for engineers building, testing and deploying software onto edge systems




- Improve system reliability, boot behaviour, performance, security and resource utilisation.

Required qualifications:

- Strong understanding of Linux systems, from userspace through to the kernel and hardware interfaces.
- Experience building, configuring or maintaining Linux systems used as part of a deployed product.
- Experience with Nix/NixOS, Yocto, Buildroot, Debian/Ubuntu or similar Linux build and distribution technologies. Deep NixOS experience is highly valued but not required.
- Strong software engineering experience in C, C++ or Rust ideally developing systems software, platform software or software for Linux-based edge devices.
- Experience with reproducible builds, dependency management, software packaging or software supply chains.
- Experience diagnosing difficult problems that cross application, operating system and hardware boundaries.
- Experience with CI/CD and automated build and test systems.
- Ability to take ownership of complex platform problems and drive them from initial investigation through deployment and long-term support.
- An interest in developing deep expertise in NixOS and reproducible software delivery.

#LD

Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check.

Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment prospect regardless of race, colour, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

📌 Senior Systems Engineer, Autonomy & Vision Systems (Melbourne)
🏢 Shield AI
📍 Melbourne