About the role#
The Human Machine Teaming (HMT) Group at Shield AI is looking for an engineering intern to help build out developer experience and development capabilities. This role focuses on the design, management, and assurance of the relationships between end users and the systems they operate. You will work across teams to enable effective product design and ensure that final products satisfy customer and market needs. You will act as a conduit between engineers, HMT specialists, and customers.
What you'll do#
- Become a skilled user of the Hivemind SDK and its autonomy modules, using the same tools as development teams and customers.
- Conduct knowledge elicitation and applied human factors analysis with developers using the Hivemind SDK, Forge, Commander, and other human-machine interfaces (HMIs).
- Translate developer, operator, and customer needs into design and development requirements that teams can implement and test.
- Specify HMT requirements for developer and operator interfaces and review proposed designs against them.
- Assess whether delivered tools, code, and systems satisfy user requirements, document gaps, and recommend remedies.
- Define acceptance criteria and evaluation methods for HMT requirements.
- Maintain traceability from operational need through requirement, acceptance, and robustness testing.
- Develop and maintain HMT design guidance, documentation, and training materials.
- Represent HMT in design reviews, architecture decisions, and trade-off discussions.
- Convert recurring friction in the development toolchain and HMIs into prioritized requirements.
- Implement requirements in code as needed and work through integration and API issues with the development team.
- Feed implementation constraints and technical realities back into HMT design and experimentation.
- Support field events and operator engagements, carrying findings into requirements for development teams.
- Travel to company, test, demonstration, and customer locations to conduct project work.
What you'll need#
- Currently pursuing a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
- A minor or focus in human factors engineering, cognitive systems engineering, or human-computer interaction.
- Hands-on software development experience sufficient to read code, reason about feasibility, and earn credibility with engineers.
- Proficiency in Python and C++.
- Familiarity with at least one other relevant language or tool, such as JavaScript, C#, HTML, CSS, or Docker.
- Demonstrated experience eliciting user needs, translating them into requirements, and assessing system performance.
- A working knowledge of human machine teaming and human factors concepts, including joint work requirements.
- Ability to reason about developer-system or operator-autonomy interaction beyond just interfaces.
- Ability to act as a conduit between engineering, HMT, and customer audiences.
- Experience in multidisciplinary settings and the ability to work in complex, ambiguous problem spaces.
- Strong teamwork, collaboration, and communication skills.
- U.S. DoD Secret clearance is required, with the ability to obtain and maintain Top Secret, SCI, or SAP-level access.
- U.S. citizenship is required.
Location & details#
- Location: Washington, D.C.
- Term: Summer 2027
- Modality: On-site
- Status: Paid, full-time internship
About Shield AI
Shield AI is a defense-tech company founded in 2015. It develops intelligent systems including Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and simulation technologies. The organization maintains offices across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region. It employs approximately 1,890 people.
How to get in at Shield AI
Applying early to Shield AI gives you a distinct advantage because recruiters review candidates before the applicant pool becomes unmanageable. Intern Insider sends an instant alert the moment a new role is published, helping you get your materials in among the first. This timing often determines whether a recruiter sees your profile or if it gets buried in a queue. You can improve your response rate at Shield AI by reaching out to recruiters directly to ask about the role or a potential referral. Intern Insider surfaces the specific recruiters behind these positions so you can bypass general portals. Connecting with a human who understands the team needs is a more effective way to stand out than relying on an automated system.
