Work with cutting edge AI technology, making the world a safer and more secure place. DroneShield (ASX:DRO) offers an opportunity to solve some of world’s most challenging technical problems in the rapidly growing counter-drone sector.   

Our customers operate in some of the most challenging and high-stakes environments in the world, including military organisations, government agencies, airports, critical infrastructure operators, and law enforcement. Protecting airspace in these settings requires technology that performs under pressure and teams that understand what’s at stake. At DroneShield, employees work at the leading edge of counter-drone innovation, helping to address real-world security challenges as drone threats continue to evolve globally. 

With one of the largest listed defence company market capitalisations in Australia, now part of the ASX200 index, DroneShield is experiencing a period of hypergrowth. Revenue has surged from A$57 million in 2024 to over A$190 million in 2025, representing growth of more than 400% year-on-year, with record profitability and cashflow. The total addressable global market for counter-drone is assessed at approximately $100 billion, and is currently at the nascent stage with much of the growth still to come, with DroneShield well positioned as a global market leader, and the only public listed pure-play business in this sector.   

The company has grown from 11 employees in 2017 to over 450 staff globally today, and is on track to reach around 550 by the end of 2026. This expansion includes investment of over A$50 million annually in R&D, a global pipeline exceeding A$2.5 billion, and continuous scaling of production capacity to meet accelerating demand.  

The role is based at DroneShield’s central Sydney headquarters. Overseas on-the-ground presence includes Virginia (USA), Netherlands, Denmark, Mexico and Dubai, as well as distributors in over 70 countries worldwide. 

About the role

DroneShield is seeking a Data Engineer to join our team in Sydney, Australia. Reporting to the SensorFusionAI (SFAI) Team Lead, you will develop the core data pipelines and tools that turn real-world, multi-sensor data into actionable AI intelligence — powering systems that operate in the world’s most complex and high-stakes environments.

This is a unique opportunity to apply your data engineering expertise in a deeply mission-driven company, working with diverse, high-volume, real-world sensor data (e.g., RF, optical, radar) in dynamic environments.

Responsibilities, Duties and Expectations 

• Design, develop, maintain and/or refine internal software tools used for processing data, workflow automation, benchmarking and testing the SensorFusionAI engine
• Analyse real-world sensor data, identify critical parameters and plan data collection strategy ensuring our target classification models remain at the cutting edge
• Lead data analysis during new sensor integrations, evaluating detection accuracy and their fit for use within our sensor fusion framework
• Liaise with drone pilots, QA and field-service engineers to collect real-world data from our multi-sensor installations
• Oversee data annotation processes and quality control to ensure consistent, model-ready datasets
• Implement and maintain automated workflows and pipelines (e.g., Git, CI/CD, MLOps, DataOps) to uphold the highest performance and quality standards
• Continuously improve data engineering pipelines to ensure performance, scalability, and reliability
• Work in close collaboration with relevant stakeholders to troubleshoot and resolve bug/issue reports
• Maintain a high standard of software quality through documentation, testing, and code reviews
• Collaborate closely with other engineers and become a valued member of an autonomous, cross-functional team

Qualifications, Experience and Skills 

• BS degree in Computer Science, Mathematics or similar technical field of study or equivalent practical experience
• Minimum 3 years of experience in a professional Software Engineering environment
• Strong background in data engineering
• Demonstrated experience in creating automated workflows (CI/CD, DataOps) and AI/ML pipelines (MLOps)
• Proficiency in an object-oriented programming language with strong expertise in one or more general purpose programming languages (ideally Python/Golang)
• Strong grasp of data structures, algorithms, and the application of mathematics and physics in software development
• Familiarity with Linux and containerisation

Nice to have

• Experience in AI or Machine Learning projects
• Proficiency in C++, meta build tools (CMake) and unit testing frameworks
• Experience developing data intensive real-time applications and/or GPU based processing systems (TensorRT, CUDA…)
• Knowledge of sensor fusion and object tracking algorithms

Who you are

• You have a strong foundation in software and data engineering, and you are confident in designing scalable systems that ingest, process, and transform large volumes of real-world sensor data. 
• You have hands-on experience building tools, pipelines, or frameworks that support AI/ML workflows. 
• You have worked across the entire data lifecycle — from raw ingestion and transformation to preparing clean, labeled datasets for model training and validation. 
• You have hands-on experience with CI/CD, containerization, and workflow orchestration tools, and enjoy automating complex processes for speed and reliability. 
• You take pride in delivering clean, well-documented, and tested code that integrates seamlessly with broader systems and is easy for others to maintain. 
• You are a self-driven learner, always seeking to improve and stay at the forefront of your field. 
• You are comfortable running your software in Linux environments. 
• You thrive in fast-paced, high-stakes settings and are motivated to help DroneShield scale globally. 

Note for recruitment agencies: We do not accept unsolicited candidates from external recruiters unless specifically instructed.

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