Shield AI is looking for a Director of Avionics Mechanical Engineering to build and lead the organization responsible for all mechanical, thermal, and harnessing (EWIS) design for the X-BAT aircraft and ground equipment. You'll set the technical strategy and organizational structure, develop managers and technical leads, and be accountable for delivering flight-critical electro-mechanical hardware from concept through production. As a senior member of the avionics leadership team, you'll partner with engineering, program, and operations leaders to shape architecture, schedule, and resourcing decisions. Leaders at Shield are expected to have strong technical fundamentals and a real history of hands-on design.
WHAT YOU’LL DO:
- Own the technical vision, strategy, and roadmap for mechanical, thermal, and EWIS engineering across X-BAT flight and ground avionics
- Build and scale a multi-team organization: hire and develop managers and technical leads, define org structure, and plan headcount to meet near- and long-term program goals
- Be accountable for your organization's delivery of complex electro-mechanical hardware that survives harsh environments, from architecture through qualification and production
- Set engineering standards, design review practices, and processes for thermal, mechanical, and harness design of flight-critical avionics
- Serve as the final technical authority on key mechanical and thermal architecture tradeoffs, and escalate risk to program leadership with clear recommendations
- Partner with electrical engineering, RF, PCB design, reliability, structures, supply chain, and manufacturing leaders to drive full-scope product delivery
- Own organizational planning inputs, including resourcing, schedule commitments, supplier and contract manufacturer strategy, and make-vs-buy decisions
- Build a culture of extreme ownership, technical rigor, and accountability
- You won't design as an individual contributor. You must have done that work earlier in your career so you can establish what "right" looks like across the organization.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering
- 15+ years of experience in mechanical design around electronics and electrical systems, including significant early-career, hands-on design of enclosures, thermal solutions, and harness integration
- 5+ years of people leadership, including managing managers or leading multiple engineering teams
- Proven record of building and scaling engineering teams through rapid growth
- Record of delivering complex avionics or electro-mechanical hardware from concept through production
- Deep technical fluency in avionics packaging, FEA, thermal analysis, and fatigue and lifecycle testing
- Experience setting engineering strategy, standards, and processes across an organization
- Experience managing relationships with fabrication shops, contract manufacturers, and key suppliers
- Ability to operate in a fast-paced, agile environment with shifting priorities
- A demonstrated record of working hard, being trustworthy, holding yourself to high standards, and being kind to others
- Ability to obtain a Secret security clearance
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Experience leading hardware teams on aircraft, spacecraft, launch vehicles, or defense platforms
- Background in high-rate hardware production, such as satellites, EV power electronics, or autonomous vehicles
- Experience with DO-160, MIL-STD-810, or similar environmental qualification standards
- Degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, or equivalent Engineering
Skills Required
- B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering
- 15+ years of experience in mechanical design around electronics and electrical systems
- Significant early-career hands-on design experience with enclosures, thermal solutions, and harness integration
- 5+ years of people leadership, including managing managers or leading multiple engineering teams
- Proven record of building and scaling engineering teams through rapid growth
- Record of delivering complex avionics or electro-mechanical hardware from concept through production
- Deep technical fluency in avionics packaging, FEA, thermal analysis, fatigue testing, and lifecycle testing
- Experience setting engineering strategy, standards, and processes across an organization
- Experience managing fabrication shops, contract manufacturers, and key suppliers
- Ability to operate in a fast-paced, agile environment with shifting priorities
- Ability to obtain a Secret security clearance
- Experience leading hardware teams on aircraft, spacecraft, launch vehicles, or defense platforms
- Background in high-rate hardware production, such as satellites, EV power electronics, or autonomous vehicles
- Experience with DO-160, MIL-STD-810, or similar environmental qualification standards
- Degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, or equivalent Engineering
What the Team is Saying
What We Do
At Shield AI, 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 AI 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.
