As a Systems Integration Engineer, you will independently own the design, installation, and integration of aircraft systems and components while supporting the development of complete subsystem installations. You will collaborate across engineering disciplines to deliver manufacturable, maintainable, and reliable aircraft hardware.
The ideal candidate has demonstrated experience designing aircraft hardware and installation solutions and enjoys solving multidisciplinary integration challenges involving structures, avionics, propulsion, manufacturing, and production.
What you'll do:
- Independently design machined, fabricated, composite, and sheet metal components for aircraft applications.
- Develop aircraft installation layouts that optimize packaging, accessibility, serviceability, manufacturability, and weight.
- Design routing paths for EWIS, hydraulic, fuel, pneumatic, and ECS systems while coordinating interfaces with adjacent aircraft structures and subsystems.
- Develop detailed engineering drawings, installation drawings, and assembly documentation in accordance with company drafting standards.
- Maintain CAD assemblies, product structures, BOMs, and engineering releases within PLM systems.
- Apply GD&T and tolerance stack-up analyses to ensure manufacturable and interchangeable designs.
- Support prototype aircraft builds, production integration, and manufacturing issue resolution.
- Investigate installation and integration issues through structured root cause analysis and implement corrective actions.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate avionics and other system components seamlessly within the aircraft
- Perform engineering calculations to support design decisions and evaluate structural adequacy.
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline.
- 3+ years of professional experience designing and integrating mechanical systems for aircraft, aerospace, defense, robotics, automotive, or other complex electromechanical products.
- Demonstrated experience designing machined, fabricated, composite, and sheet metal components from concept through production release.
- Proficiency developing complex 3D CAD models, large assemblies, installation layouts, and detailed engineering drawings using NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, Creo, or equivalent CAD software.
- Experience managing engineering data, product structures, Bills of Material (BOMs), and drawing releases using PLM systems such as Teamcenter, Windchill, or 3DEXPERIENCE.
- Working knowledge of aircraft installation practices, subsystem packaging, interface management, equipment mounting, and maintainability considerations.
- Experience developing installation layouts and routing solutions for EWIS, hydraulic, fuel, pneumatic, ECS, or similar mechanical systems.
- Working knowledge of GD&T in accordance with ASME Y14.5 and experience performing tolerance stack-up analyses.
- Experience supporting prototype builds, manufacturing, aircraft assembly, installation, and production issue resolution.
- Ability to investigate integration issues, perform root cause analysis, and implement effective corrective actions.
- Experience collaborating with Manufacturing, Systems Engineering, Stress, Avionics, Supply Chain, Quality, and Test Engineering organizations throughout the product development lifecycle.
- Strong organizational, communication, and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple assignments simultaneously.
- Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience integrating aircraft subsystems on unmanned aircrafts, fixed wing, eVTOL, or other aerospace platforms.
- Experience leading mechanical work packages or owning subsystem-level hardware from concept through production.
- Experience performing structural hand calculations, free-body diagrams, load path evaluations, or preliminary stress analyses to support mechanical design decisions.
- Experience performing finite element analysis (FEA), including static, modal, vibration, fatigue, or thermal analyses.
- Hands-on experience supporting build, production, testing, or hardware validation activities.
- Familiarity with aircraft configuration management, engineering change processes, and formal product release workflows.
- Experience coordinating engineering activities with suppliers, manufacturing partners, or external engineering organizations.
- Familiarity with FAA, DoD, MIL-STD, or commercial aerospace design standards.
- Experience mentoring interns or early-career engineers and reviewing engineering documentation for technical accuracy.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline.
- 3+ years professional experience designing and integrating mechanical systems for aircraft, aerospace, defense, robotics, automotive, or complex electromechanical products.
- Demonstrated experience designing machined, fabricated, composite, and sheet metal components from concept through production release.
- Proficiency developing complex 3D CAD models, large assemblies, installation layouts, and detailed engineering drawings using NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, Creo, or equivalent CAD software.
- Experience managing engineering data, product structures, Bills of Material (BOMs), and drawing releases using PLM systems such as Teamcenter, Windchill, or 3DEXPERIENCE.
- Working knowledge of aircraft installation practices, subsystem packaging, interface management, equipment mounting, and maintainability considerations.
- Experience developing installation layouts and routing solutions for EWIS, hydraulic, fuel, pneumatic, ECS, or similar mechanical systems.
- Working knowledge of GD&T in accordance with ASME Y14.5 and experience performing tolerance stack-up analyses.
- Experience supporting prototype builds, manufacturing, aircraft assembly, installation, and production issue resolution.
- Ability to investigate integration issues, perform root cause analysis, and implement effective corrective actions.
- Experience collaborating with Manufacturing, Systems Engineering, Stress, Avionics, Supply Chain, Quality, and Test Engineering organizations throughout the product development lifecycle.
- Strong organizational, communication, and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple assignments simultaneously.
- Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance.
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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Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
