As a design engineer, you’ll lead complex CAD efforts, enforce rigorous design standards, and collaborate directly with Responsible Engineers, technicians, machinists, and production teams to ensure our propulsion hardware is functional, manufacturable, and testable. You will be the cornerstone of configuration control, interface discipline, and design-for-execution within the team.
What You'll Do
- Own the design of propulsion components and subsystems from concept through production release
- Develop and maintain high-quality CAD models, detailed drawings, and assemblies using Siemens NX with fully applied GD&T
- Write and enforce propulsion design standards and contribute to company-wide design best practices
- Collaborate closely with the machine shop, production team, and technicians to support builds, resolve non-conformances, and drive iterative improvements
- Develop initial work instructions, assembly guidance, and design documentation for repeatability and scalability
- Ensure designs are practical, manufacturable, and cost-effective, with strong understanding of machining, tolerances, materials, and assembly workflows
- Apply engineering analysis and judgment (e.g., hand calcs, GFSSP, ANSYS, FEA, REFPROP) to support sizing, load cases, and design validation
- Support configuration management, BOM control, and change processes using Teamcenter or equivalent PLM
- Participate in design reviews, interface control working groups, and root cause investigations
What You'll Bring
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related engineering discipline
- 7+ years of experience in mechanical design for aerospace, with direct propulsion hardware experience preferred
- Expert-level proficiency in CAD modeling and drawing creation (NX preferred) and application of GD&T
- Proven ability to work cross-functionally with production, machine shop personnel, and technicians to solve real-time hardware issues
- Familiarity with design for manufacturing, including machining processes, surface modeling, stack-up analysis, and fabrication limitations
- Hands-on experience developing assembly work instructions, troubleshooting build issues, and implementing hardware-driven design changes
- Experience with configuration management, PLM systems (Teamcenter), and BOM structure
- U.S. Citizenship or ability to comply with ITAR requirements; Ability to obtain Secret clearance
- Experience with GFSSP, REFPROP, ANSYS, FEA, or other mechanical and thermal analysis tools
- Ability to write Python scripts for design automation, data analysis, or simulation support
- Proficient in interface control and tolerance stack-up analysis for complex assemblies
- Knowledge of fastening methods and joint design for high-vibration, aerospace environments
- Familiarity with high-temperature materials and design practices for thermally stressed components
- Prior experience designing hardware for internal combustion, turbine, or rocket propulsion systems, particularly in development or test environments
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related engineering discipline
Required Qualifications:
Preferred Qualifications:
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related engineering discipline
- 7+ years of experience in mechanical design for aerospace
- Direct propulsion hardware experience
- Expert-level CAD modeling and drawing creation proficiency, with NX preferred
- Application of GD&T
- Cross-functional experience solving hardware issues with production, machine shop personnel, and technicians
- Design-for-manufacturing knowledge, including machining, surface modeling, tolerance stack-up analysis, and fabrication limitations
- Hands-on experience developing assembly work instructions, troubleshooting builds, and implementing hardware-driven design changes
- Configuration management, PLM systems such as Teamcenter, and BOM structures
- U.S. citizenship or ability to comply with ITAR requirements
- Ability to obtain Secret clearance
- Experience with GFSSP, REFPROP, ANSYS, FEA, or other mechanical and thermal analysis tools
- Ability to write Python scripts for design automation, data analysis, or simulation support
- Interface control and tolerance stack-up analysis for complex assemblies
- Knowledge of fastening methods and joint design for high-vibration aerospace environments
- Familiarity with high-temperature materials and thermally stressed component design
- Experience designing internal combustion, turbine, or rocket propulsion hardware
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related engineering discipline
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials highlight comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with mental-health support and an EAP. Third-party benefits summaries also portray health coverage as a strong component of the package.
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Retirement Support — Offerings include a 401(k) with employer matching, cited on the careers page and independent benefits directories. Multiple sources indicate a match exists, though exact formulas have varied over time and warrant confirmation.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Company communications describe equity for all full-time hires and stock benefits as part of total rewards. Independent listings also note company equity/RSUs as a standard element.
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 Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
