Software Engineer jobs in Washington, D.C.

Shield AI

Full-time · Washington, DC · $150,000 – $220,000

A high-leverage infrastructure role building developer tooling and automation around generative AI to accelerate software engineering across the organization. Suits experienced engineers with expertise in build systems, CI/CD, and developer workflows who want impact that scales through others' productivity.

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Shield AI

Full-time · Washington, DC · $195,200 – $292,800

Lead the development of machine learning and computer vision systems that enable autonomous platforms to perceive and understand their environment. This role suits experienced engineers who want to bridge cutting-edge AI research with production systems while mentoring a team on perception challenges in defense technology.

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Palantir

Washington, DC

Palantir seeks an experienced software engineer to optimize and build systems for edge computing environments, from embedded devices to distributed systems. This role is for someone skilled in low-level native development who can solve latency, performance, and cost challenges in real-world deployments.

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Shield AI

Full-time · Washington, DC · $163,200 – $244,800

This role involves building and deploying machine learning models for autonomous systems, focusing on computer vision and vision-language capabilities. It suits engineers who want to move cutting-edge AI research into production systems while working cross-functionally with researchers and autonomy teams.

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Palantir

Full-time · Washington, DC · $135,000 – $200,000

Palantir is building autonomous systems that combine sensors, AI, and real-time actuation for military and commercial edge applications. This role suits engineers who want to develop and deploy cutting-edge systems integrating hardware, software, and intelligent decision-making in austere environments.

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Shield AI

Full-time · Washington, DC · $233,760 – $350,640

This senior engineer role involves building and deploying machine learning models that help autonomous defense systems perceive and understand their environment, bridging research and production. It suits experienced ML engineers who want to work on vision and vision-language models at scale while solving real-world deployment challenges for military applications.

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Shield AI

Full-time · Washington, DC · $233,760 – $350,640

A leadership role designing and deploying autonomy software for military drone and aerial platforms that operate in distributed, networked fleets. You'll handle complex integration challenges across motion planning, perception, and control systems while working with real hardware and field operations.

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Shield AI

Full-time · Washington, DC · $195,200 – $292,800

This role leads technical integration of autonomous systems across emerging military platforms including satellites, maritime vehicles, and unmanned helicopters. The position suits experienced software engineers who can architect complex autonomy solutions from concept through field testing and who thrive working across multiple technical teams to transition research into operational capabilities.

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Shield AI

Full-time · Washington, DC · $163,200 – $244,800

This role involves developing autonomy software for emerging military platforms across space, maritime, and logistics domains, where you'll integrate Shield AI's existing autonomy capabilities with new systems that often lack prior autonomous baselines. It suits engineers who thrive on cross-platform integration challenges and seeing their code operate in real-world military environments.

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Shield AI

Full-time · Washington, DC · $233,760 – $350,640

Lead the technical delivery of autonomy software for weaponized aerial and ground platforms operating in disconnected environments, owning complex integration challenges from simulation through live field testing. This role suits experienced systems engineers comfortable with defense applications who can drive technical direction across multiple teams while managing end-to-end software lifecycle.

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Shield AI

Full-time · Washington, DC · $195,200 – $292,800

This role develops and integrates autonomy software for small air- and ground-launched defense platforms operating in multi-agent fleets, often in disconnected environments. It suits experienced engineers who can own complex technical problems end-to-end, from simulation through live field testing, while collaborating across multiple teams on scalable fleet operations.

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Shield AI

Full-time · Washington, DC · $163,200 – $244,800

This role develops and deploys autonomy software for defense platforms operating in contested environments, combining capabilities from multiple teams to deliver end-to-end solutions from simulation through live operations. It suits experienced engineers who can own complex integration challenges across hardware, software, and real-world fielding.

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Shield AI

Full-time · Washington, DC · $233,760 – $350,640

This role leads the technical architecture and long-term strategy for autonomy software on Shield AI's unmanned aircraft platforms used in field operations. You'll drive integration across flight control, perception, mission planning, and multi-agent systems while partnering with aircraft, autonomy, and customer teams to deliver reliable solutions for defense operators.

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Palantir

Full-time · Washington, DC · $135,000 – $200,000

Join Palantir's Mixed Reality Group as a forward-deployed engineer embedding directly with customers to architect and build immersive applications that solve critical real-world problems. This role combines hands-on work with cutting-edge MR hardware, full-stack development, and direct customer collaboration in small, agile teams with startup autonomy backed by enterprise resources.

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Shield AI

Full-time · Washington, DC · $195,200 – $292,800

You'll lead technical integration of autonomous software for unmanned aircraft used in defense operations, owning complex problems across flight control, payload integration, and field deployment. This role suits experienced engineers comfortable bridging software, hardware, and operational teams while mentoring others and driving customer-ready systems.

Listed on Shield AI’s careers site · Apply there ↗

Palantir

Full-time · Washington, DC · $135,000 – $200,000

A Forward Deployed Software Engineer at Palantir solves complex technical problems for government and enterprise customers by designing end-to-end solutions, integrating data, and iterating based on customer feedback. This role suits engineers who enjoy working directly with customers, learning new technologies rapidly, and taking ownership of projects from conception to deployment.

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Shield AI

Full-time · Washington, DC · $163,200 – $244,800

You'll develop autonomy software for Shield AI's unmanned aircraft systems, building mission behaviors, multi-agent coordination, and flight control capabilities. This hands-on senior role balances software development from simulation through live flight tests with technical leadership and partnership across teams, supporting real-world defense operations worldwide.

Listed on Shield AI’s careers site · Apply there ↗