Shield AI Salary

💰 $150K–$235K salary range

Median: $190K  ·  Based on 366 public Shield AI job postings  ·  Updated September 18, 2026

This Shield AI salary benchmark is built from public job postings — no private placement data. Figures reflect the posted-range midpoint (equity is separate) and are refreshed as new postings are collected.

📊 Salary breakdown

Highest-paying open roles at Shield AI

• Senior Staff Software Engineer, Autonomy Capabilities (R4587) — $281K–$421K · Hivemind Solutions Division
• Senior Staff Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration (R5402) — $281K–$421K · Hivemind Solutions Division
• Senior Staff Engineer, ML Ops (R4941) — $280K–$420K · Hivemind Enterprise Division
• Territory Business Development Manager, USMC (R5167) — $270K–$400K · Growth Division
• Senior Staff BD Account Executive, Hivemind - Army (R4794) — $270K–$400K · Growth Division
• Principal Engineer, Fluid & Thermal Systems (R5620) — $266K–$400K · X-BAT Division
• Senior Staff BD Account Executive, Hivemind - Federal Civilian Agencies (R5589) — $270K–$400K · Growth Division
• Territory Business Development Manager, Intel/Space Force (R5134) — $270K–$400K · Growth Division
• Sr Director Engineering, V-BAT — $250K–$380K · V-BAT Division
• Principal Engineer, Fluid & Thermal Systems (R4793) — $250K–$370K · X-BAT Division

Shield AI salary by department

• hivemind solutions division: $229K median · $421K top base — Senior Staff Software Engineer, Autonomy Capabilities (R4587) (view JD) (74 roles)
• hivemind enterprise division: $229K median · $420K top base — Senior Staff Engineer, ML Ops (R4941) (view JD) (24 roles)
• growth division: $225K median · $400K top base — Territory Business Development Manager, USMC (R5167) (view JD) (14 roles)
• x-bat division: $200K median · $400K top base — Principal Engineer, Fluid & Thermal Systems (R5620) (view JD) (111 roles)
• people experience division: $176K median · $250K top base — Senior Staff PX Business Partner - Software, Products & Services (R4850) (view JD) (5 roles)
• v-bat division: $175K median · $380K top base — Sr Director Engineering, V-BAT (view JD) (34 roles)
• aircraft operations division: $160K median · $290K top base — Director of Production (R4782) (view JD) (61 roles)
• finance division: $160K median · $300K top base — Senior Director of Hivemind Finance (R5621) (view JD) (20 roles)

Shield AI salary by location

• Seattle: $196K median · $400K top base — Principal Engineer, Fluid & Thermal Systems (R5620) (view JD) (102 roles)
• Dallas: $160K median · $380K top base — Sr Director Engineering, V-BAT (view JD) (91 roles)
• San Diego: $203K median · $354K top base — Manager of Engineering, Autonomy Capabilities (R5412) (view JD) (42 roles)
• Boston: $200K median · $281K top base — Staff Software Engineer, Autonomy Capabilities – Space (R5368) (view JD) (4 roles)

Remote work at Shield AI

1% of Shield AI's disclosed-pay roles are remote-friendly.

What Shield AI looks for

Most-required skills across these postings: Python (14) · CI/CD (4) · TypeScript (4) · Go (3) · React (3) · Docker (2) · Product Roadmap (2) · Java (2) · PostgreSQL (1) · Supply Chain (1).

About Shield AI

Shield AI is Series G stage · 1,001–5,000 employees · founded 2015 · HQ San Diego, CA. This context shapes pay: later-stage, well-funded companies tend to anchor base salary higher.

Experience & background at Shield AI

Roles typically ask for around 7 years of experience (up to 15+ for the most senior). Most postings don't state a degree requirement; of the 169 that do, Bachelor's and Master's and PhD and Associate's are most common.

Posted pay vs. total compensation

The figures on this page are the midpoint of each posting's advertised salary range (which, for commission roles, includes on-target earnings). Equity is a separate — and often large — component of total compensation, especially at high-growth and AI-native companies; 20% of these postings reference equity (options). Equity is not included in the medians above.

Shield AI hiring activity

Shield AI has 366 open roles right now, and this benchmark draws on 366 public job postings with disclosed pay. 209 of these roles were first seen in the last 30 days (218 in the last 90). Mostly full-time, with 8 contract roles in the mix.

💼 Similar companies hiring

Compare Shield AI's pay with companies in the same space:

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📚 Salary guides & rankings

Top-Paying Tech Companies for Engineers (2026) · Highest-Paying Cities for Software Engineers · Highest-Paying Engineering Roles

Browse all company salary pages →

Explore more salary data

All Engineering salaries →  ·  Staff Software Engineer, Autonomy Capabilities (R4587) salary progression →  ·  Browse all tech salaries →

Common questions

What does Shield AI pay?
The median pay is $190K, with a typical range of $150K–$235K, based on 366 public job postings (2025–2026). Base only — equity is separate.

What is the highest-paying job at Shield AI?
One of the highest-paying open roles is Senior Staff Software Engineer, Autonomy Capabilities (R4587), at $281K–$421K base.

Which team pays the most at Shield AI?
The hivemind solutions division team, at a $229K median.

Where does this data come from?
Public job postings on company career pages and public job boards — no private placement or client data.

Methodology

Posted-range midpoints (USD) aggregated from 366 public Shield AI job postings (2025–2026). Range = 25th–75th percentile; median = 50th percentile. Roles, departments, skills, and experience are parsed from the postings. Base salary only — equity excluded. Last refreshed September 18, 2026.

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