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, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Job Description:
Shield AI is seeking an engineering manager of Mechanical Design to support the development of our next-generation autonomous UAV platform. In this high-ownership, high visibility role you will lead a team of engineers developing mechanical systems to support Shield AI’s next generation aircraft program(s).
You will work the director of engineering in a deputy capacity to support collaboration across engineering sites, align technical leaders, create mentorship opportunities for junior engineers, and assist in leveling engineering resources across vehicles and programs.
You will set the bar for excellence through technical demonstration, guidance, and mentorship.
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Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
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. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
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Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, 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.
What you'll do:
Lead and develop a team of high talent mechanical engineers, from new grad to Principal, focused on aircraft mechanisms and actuation systems (architecture, detailed design, analysis support, release, and sustaining).
Support your team as a technical resource for end-to-end design of mechanisms including (as applicable):
Doors & latching
Uplocks / Downlocks
Landing gear mechanisms
Actuation integration for flight controls
Nozzle / propulsion actuation mechanisms
Actuation, Hydraulics
Set the quality bar for mechanisms engineering: what “good” looks like in sizing, tolerances, margins, drawings/MBD, materials/process selection, and verification evidence.
Enable extreme ownership by ensuring engineers have clear goals, interfaces, resources, and decision rights
Drive effective cross-functional collaboration (systems, structures/loads, aero, propulsion, GNC, avionics, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, test, flight test) by fostering excelling communication across interfaces.
Coach and develop engineers through technical mentorship, career development, feedback, hiring, onboarding, and performance management.
Manage team workload across multiple builds and test campaigns; communicate risk, staffing needs, and schedule impacts with transparency.
Required qualifications:
B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (or equivalent).
10+ years experience with aerospace mechanisms and actuated system design, build, integration, test and flight.
2+ years leading teams or performing in a team leadership role.
Demonstrated ability to lead teams with high autonomy—setting direction, ensuring quality, and scaling output through people.
Strong engineering fundamentals: kinematics, statics/dynamics, fatigue/wear, tolerancing/GD&T, materials and finishes, lubrication/bearings, failure modes.
Experience shipping hardware through prototype build, test, iteration, and release, including supplier and manufacturing engagement.
Preferred qualifications:
Experience with environmental and operational robustness (vibration/shock, thermal extremes, contamination, corrosion, sand/dust, etc.).
Experience supporting ground test and flight test campaigns and mechanism failure investigations.
Familiarity with reliability and safety methods (DFMEA/FTA, fault containment, safe-state thinking) in collaboration with systems safety.
Experience building supplier relationships for machined parts, actuation systems, mechanisms assemblies, understanding of special processes and inspection/acceptance strategies.