What you'll do:
- Support environmental and stress testing efforts (e.g., temperature cycling, vibration, HALT/HASS) to validate hardware reliability
- Assist in failure analysis and root cause investigations for manufacturing non-conformances and field returns
- Analyze test results and field data to help identify potential failure modes and reliability risks
- Collaborate with design engineers to incorporate design-for-reliability best practices
- Participate in design reviews and FMEA activities to evaluate potential issues
- Support development of corrective actions and process improvements to enhance hardware reliability
- Assist in reviewing materials, manufacturing processes, and component selection for reliability considerations
- Utilize data analysis tools (e.g., Python) to support reliability assessments and reporting
- Work cross-functionally with engineering, manufacturing, and supplier teams
- Travel occasionally to support testing or supplier engagements as needed
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Reliability Engineering, or a related field
- 1–3 years of experience (internships or co-ops acceptable) in hardware, materials, or reliability engineering
- Foundational understanding of materials science, electronics (PCBs/PCBAs), and/or mechanical systems
- Familiarity with basic reliability concepts and environmental testing methods
- Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail
- Ability to work in a team-oriented, cross-functional environment
- Clear written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired.
Preferred qualifications:
- Hands-on experience with failure analysis or lab testing (academic or industry)
- Exposure to environmental testing (temperature, vibration, HALT/HASS)
- Familiarity with manufacturing processes such as PCB fabrication, SMT, or mechanical assembly
- Basic proficiency in Python or similar tools for data analysis
- Exposure to industry standards such as IPC, JEDEC, MIL, or similar
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Materials, Mechanical, Reliability Engineering, or related field
- 1-3 years experience in hardware, materials, or reliability engineering (internships/co-ops acceptable)
- Foundational understanding of materials science, electronics (PCBs/PCBAs), and/or mechanical systems
- Familiarity with basic reliability concepts and environmental testing methods (temperature, vibration, HALT/HASS)
- Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail
- Ability to work in a team-oriented, cross-functional environment
- Clear written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to obtain S//SAR level security clearance
- Hands-on experience with failure analysis or lab testing (academic or industry)
- Exposure to environmental testing (temperature, vibration, HALT/HASS)
- Familiarity with manufacturing processes such as PCB fabrication, SMT, or mechanical assembly
- Basic proficiency in Python or similar tools for data analysis
- Exposure to industry standards such as IPC, JEDEC, MIL, or similar
What the Team is Saying
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.
Shield AI Insights
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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Shield AI Teams
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Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
