Be an Early Applicant
Our mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems.
The Role
Integrate avionics, sensors, actuators, and payloads into aircraft and launch/recovery vehicles. Assist harness design, hardware bring-up, integration testing, debugging, root-cause investigations, and verification. Produce integration documentation and test procedures. Collaborate with mechanical, software, embedded, and manufacturing teams, support environmental/qualification testing, and drive continuous improvement.
Summary Generated by Built In
Founded in 2015, 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 and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft. 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:
We are growing the Avionics Engineering team to support development of the X-BAT aircraft and the Launch and Recovery Vehicle. Our team is designing a flight critical, custom avionics system to support communications, compute, AI, power, telemetry, and all other needed aircraft systems.
This role is an exciting opportunity to be responsible for integrating avionics systems, sensors, actuators, and payloads onto the XBAT and Launch and Recovery vehicle ensuring from concept through production.
What you'll do:
- Support integration of avionics systems, sensors, actuators, and payloads into the aircraft and launch/recovery vehicle
- Assist in harness design
- Support hardware bring-up, integration testing, and debugging
- Participate in root cause investigations and corrective actions
- Create and maintain integration documentation, test procedures, and verification reports
- Work closely with mechanical, embedded, software, and manufacturing teams to resolve integration challenges
- Support environmental and qualification testing of flight hardware
- Contribute to continuous improvement efforts across hardware development projects
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, or Systems Engineering (or equivalent experience)
- 0–3 years of relevant industry or internship experience
- Strong fundamentals in electrical systems and hardware integration
- Hands-on experience working with embedded systems, sensors, or power systems (academic projects acceptable)
- Comfort working with lab equipment (oscilloscope, DMM, power supplies, etc.)
- Strong troubleshooting mindset and willingness to work hands-on with hardware
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, iterative development environment
- Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired.
#LI-JM2
#LB
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.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, or Systems Engineering (or equivalent experience)
- 0-3 years of relevant industry or internship experience
- Strong fundamentals in electrical systems and hardware integration
- Hands-on experience working with embedded systems, sensors, or power systems (academic projects acceptable)
- Comfort working with lab equipment (oscilloscope, DMM, power supplies, etc.)
- Strong troubleshooting mindset and willingness to work hands-on with hardware
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, iterative development environment
- Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance
What the Team is Saying
Dylan
Lead Engineer, Planning and Controls-Motion
Mo
Lead Engineer, Platform Automation
Willy
Technical Director
Michael
Engineering Manager - State Estimation
Vibhav
Senior Staff Engineer
Kirby
Mechanical Engineer
Ryan
CEO
Evan
Senior Machine Learning Engineer
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials describe excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage alongside a mental‑health EAP. Site perks such as an onsite gym in DC and a gym discount in San Diego support a health‑focused offering.
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Retirement Support — Careers materials highlight a 401(k) with company match as part of the standard package. A Total Rewards overview emphasizes retirement features within a broader, transparent compensation view.
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Career-Linked Recognition & Rewards — Compensation for in‑demand technical and senior go‑to‑market roles is described as competitive, with visible engineering ranges and top‑end packages. This points to meaningful upside tied to role, level, and scarce skills.
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The Company
What We Do
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide.
Why Work With Us
What makes Shield AI special is our people. We unlock the power of autonomy, and in the face of overwhelming odds and challenges, we find ways to win and make a difference for our customers. We bring together software, AI, and aerospace engineering disciplines to deploy the most intelligent aviation capabilities in the world.
Gallery
Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
Typical time on-site:
3 days a week
