We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Supplier Development Engineer to join Shield AI, focusing on machined parts. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in supplier development, quality engineering, production process improvement, and supply chain management within the aerospace industry. This role is critical in enhancing supplier performance by solving supplier challenges that impact quality/on-time delivery/scaling, supporting the onboarding of suppliers to new designs, and delivering on our mission to deliver affordable and autonomous mass at scale.
What you'll do:
* Process Improvement: Audit and embed into core supplier processes to understand improvement opportunities to cost, lead-times, and quality
* Quality Assurance: Conduct on-site audits to root cause supplier quality issues or performance challenges
* Supplier Development: Assess and improve supplier capabilities, ensuring alignment with engineering and operational priorities.
* Engineering Technical Support: Provide technical guidance to suppliers on part specifications, manufacturing processes and standards, and quality measures
* Supplier Performance Monitoring: Track and analyze supplier performance metrics, including delivery, quality, and cost. Implement corrective actions and continuous improvement plans as necessary.
* Risk Management: Identify and mitigate risks within the supply chain to ensure uninterrupted production and delivery of components
* New Product Introduction (NPI): Support the introduction of new products by ensuring suppliers meet all quality and delivery requirements during the development phase
Required qualifications:
* You are currently pursuing a degree in electrical, industrial, or mechanical engineering or related field to graduate in December 2027 or Spring 2028.
* CAD (SolidWorks, NX, CATIA, etc.)
* Excel / data analysis
* PLM or ERP systems
* Travel up to 50%
* Can read drawings + GD&T confidently
* Understand machining/welding/forming processes
* Led root cause investigations (8D, 5 Whys)
* Worked with suppliers or production lines
Skills Required
- Currently pursuing a degree in electrical, industrial, mechanical engineering, or a related field
- Expected graduation in December 2027 or Spring 2028
- Experience with CAD software such as SolidWorks, NX, or CATIA
- Excel and data analysis skills
- Experience with PLM or ERP systems
- Ability to travel up to 50%
- Ability to confidently read engineering drawings and apply GD&T
- Understanding of machining, welding, and forming processes
- Experience leading root cause investigations using 8D or 5 Whys
- Experience working with suppliers or production lines
What the Team is Saying
Shield Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, and vision coverage are described as strong and affordable, and offerings include a mental-health assistance program. Overall impressions point to good plan value for many employees.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with employer matching is highlighted positively, with accounts describing a company match and favorable experiences. Current match formulas and vesting are noted as worth confirming.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Full-time hires receive equity (often via RSUs), positioned as a meaningful component of total rewards. A double-trigger structure is noted as potentially deferring taxes until a liquidity event.
Shield Insights
What We Do
At Shield you won't wait years to see your work reach the field. You'll build hardware and software that operates in the real world right now, in the hands of the people who depend on it. Hivemind, our AI pilot, has been flying since 2018. It has flown more than 30 platforms, including an F-16, and it now sits under a U.S. Air Force production contract for Collaborative Combat Aircraft. When you write code or shape a system here, you contribute to technology with a proven flight record and a clear production future. V-BAT flies intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions with an operational record that stretches from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific. It delivers eyes where they matter most, in the most demanding conditions on earth. The teams behind it watch their work get tested where the stakes are real. X-BAT takes its first flight this year. It's an AI-piloted fighter that needs no runway, built to operate where traditional aircraft can't. Join now and you help shape a program at its earliest, most formative stage. That's the kind of ground-floor work that defines a career. Do the most impactful work of your life, on problems that matter. Autonomy at this level asks a lot of you. You'll take on problems in perception, planning, and control that few teams anywhere are equipped to solve. You'll work across disciplines, from aerospace and robotics to machine learning and systems engineering, alongside people who hold themselves to an exacting standard and expect the same from you. Our mission is clear: protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. That purpose runs through every decision, every design review, and every deployment. It's why the work here carries a weight you can feel. Ready to join our mission? Explore our open roles and find where you fit.
Why Work With Us
Founded in 2015 by a former Navy SEAL, Shield builds AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft. Veterans aren't an afterthought here, they're at every level. It's why the work carries weight: AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft flying real missions, from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific, protecting service members and civilians.
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Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
