Principal Aerostructures Design Engineer
Shield AI is a U.S. defense-technology company developing mission-autonomy software and autonomous aircraft for military and allied operations.
Funding history
Investors
About Shield AI
Founded in 2015, Shield AI builds Hivemind autonomy software and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft for operations in contested, GPS- and communications-denied environments. Its current site also presents Aechelon synthetic-reality simulation and Vision Systems detection and tracking products.
Skills
Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
You will lead the end-to-end design and development of primary and secondary aircraft structures for an autonomous UAV platform. You will create concepts, CAD models, detail designs, and drawings; conduct structural analyses; select materials; lead validation testing; and support production and field deployment. You will coordinate with engineering, manufacturing, and flight-test functions, guide design reviews, maintain compliant documentation, and mentor junior engineers.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline
- 15+ years of aircraft structural design experience
- Knowledge of composite and metallic structures
- Expertise with NX, CATIA, or SolidWorks
- Expertise with ANSYS, Abaqus, NASTRAN, or similar FEA tools
- Experience with stress analysis, fatigue analysis, and design optimization
- Knowledge of DFMA, GD&T, tolerance stackups, and structural layout principles
- Technical communication and cross-functional engineering leadership
- Ability to obtain an S//SAR level security clearance desired
Responsibilities
- Lead the design and development of primary and secondary aircraft structural components and assemblies
- Own the structural design lifecycle from concept generation through drawing release
- Perform and guide linear and nonlinear structural, stress, and margin analyses
- Integrate airframe and subsystem interfaces with aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics, payload, and manufacturing functions
- Select composite, aluminum alloy, and advanced manufacturing solutions
- Lead design reviews, architecture discussions, and technical decisions
- Oversee structural validation testing from coupons through full-system tests
- Develop design documentation, analysis reports, interface definitions, and verification plans
- Mentor junior engineers and review engineering work
- Transition designs to production and field deployment
- Improve design processes, configuration management, and workflows
Benefits
- Bonus
- Benefits
- Equity