Join a high-impact mechanical test team developing next-generation aircraft that support the safety of service members and civilians. This role drives hardware design decisions by quantifying product performance through advanced testing, custom measurement systems, and specialized analysis.
We are seeking a Structures / Mechanical Test Engineer with direct experience in advanced CAD and FEA analysis (e.g. Siemens NX), hydraulic systems, sensor instrumentation (force, pressure, strain, displacement), Python-based test automation to deliver measurable improvements in test quality, speed, and reliability.
What you'll do:
- Design, build, and operate test fixtures and systems involving hydraulic actuation, mechanical linkages, and sensor instrumentation.
- Support hydraulic system design and test activities, including selection, integration, and troubleshooting of components such as valves, pumps, accumulators, actuators, fittings, hoses, and manifolds.
- Develop and execute test plans to validate mechanical performance, structural integrity, and environmental durability.
- Integrate and calibrate a range of sensors (e.g., load cells, pressure transducers, strain gauges, accelerometers) into test setups for accurate data collection.
- Create and maintain python scripts to provide automation, signal processing, and result visualization.
- Analyze test data, troubleshoot system behaviors, and generate detailed technical reports with design feedback.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams including mechanical design, systems, and electrical engineering to define test requirements and interpret results.
- Lead CAD design of custom test equipment, prototypes, fixtures, and components, ensuring manufacturability and safety.
- Perform Finite Element Analysis to simulate mechanical performance, validate design assumptions, and correlate analytical results with test data.
- Work with composite materials in the design, fabrication, and testing of mechanical components, with consideration for their unique properties such as anisotropy, delamination risk, and layup configuration.
- Support lab safety protocols, equipment maintenance, and continuous improvement of test capabilities.
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
- 6+ years of experience in mechanical/structures testing or product development environments.
- Deep experience with hydraulic systems, driving precise control, stable operation, and reliable data capture across complex test environment.
- Expertise in sensor selection, integration, and calibration in test environments, producing high-confidence data used to inform critical design decisions.
- Proficiency in Python for scripting, test automation, and data analysis.
- Advanced CAD skills (e.g. Siemens NX) with experience designing test hardware and prototypes.
- Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently and in team settings.
Preferred qualifications:
- Comprehensive understanding of hydraulic schematics, pressure and flow characterization, leak detection methodologies, instrumentation, and the safe operation of pressurized hydraulic systems
- Experience working in aerospace structures and dynamics test environments with familiarity with test article preparation, sensor installation, data acquisition systems, reaction frame design, test readiness reviews, and post-test data analysis.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
- 6+ years of experience in mechanical/structures testing or product development environments
- Deep experience with hydraulic systems (selection, integration, troubleshooting, precise control)
- Expertise in sensor selection, integration, and calibration (load cells, pressure transducers, strain gauges, accelerometers)
- Proficiency in Python for scripting, test automation, and data analysis
- Advanced CAD skills (e.g., Siemens NX) with experience designing test hardware and prototypes
- Experience with Finite Element Analysis to simulate mechanical performance and correlate with test data
- Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to work independently and in teams
- Comprehensive understanding of hydraulic schematics, pressure and flow characterization, leak detection, and safe operation of pressurized hydraulic systems
- Experience in aerospace structures and dynamics test environments, test readiness reviews, and post-test data analysis
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.
