We are seeking a Senior Propulsion Test Engineer to lead the planning and execution of propulsion test campaigns for the X-BAT platform. This role is responsible for end-to-end ownership of propulsion test activities—from test architecture and test stand design through execution, data analysis, and iteration - supporting a low-bypass turbofan-powered Group 5 UAV.
You will serve as the focal point for propulsion testing, ensuring test results accurately characterize engine and subsystem performance, de-risk integration, and inform flight readiness decisions. This role is hands-on, data-driven, and highly cross-functional - requiring close collaboration with propulsion engineers, design engineers, technicians, controls, airframe, and flight test teams.
What you will do in this role:
- Own the propulsion test program from requirements through execution, data review, and test-to-flight handoff.
- Architect, design, analyze, and build test stands and fixtures for engine, fuel, oil, bleed air, and TVC-related testing.
- Define and implement instrumentation plans, DAQ architecture, calibration methods, and test procedures.
- Lead ground test campaigns, including performance mapping, transient response, and edge-of-envelope testing.
- Analyze test data to validate performance, identify anomalies, and drive design or control updates.
- Partner with propulsion REs and controls engineers to ensure test coverage closes risk against CONOPS and mission profiles.
- Drive root cause investigations for test anomalies and implement corrective actions.
- Author test plans, reports, and readiness reviews; represent propulsion test in design and flight readiness reviews.
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
- 5+ years of experience in propulsion or engine testing in aerospace development environments.
- Hands-on experience with engine test cells, test stand design, instrumentation, and DAQ systems.
- Strong understanding of gas turbine engine performance, transients, and test methodologies.
- Proficiency in Python (or similar) for data reduction, automation, and analysis workflows.
- Experience supporting flight test readiness and test-to-flight transitions.
- U.S. Citizenship or ability to comply with ITAR requirements.
- Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience testing low-bypass turbofan engines or propulsion subsystems on UAVs or tactical aircraft.
- Familiarity with REFPROP, GFSSP, ANSYS, or FEA to support test interpretation and correlation.
- Experience designing structural test fixtures, load paths, thermal management, and safety systems for hot-fire environments.
- Background in controls integration, actuator testing (e.g., TVC), and transient characterization.
- Experience operating in a test-driven, hardware-centric aerospace development environment.
- M.S. in Aerospace Engineering or a related discipline.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering or a related engineering discipline
- 5+ years of experience in propulsion or engine testing in aerospace development environments
- Hands-on experience with engine test cells, test stand design, instrumentation, and DAQ systems
- Strong understanding of gas turbine engine performance, transients, and test methodologies
- Proficiency in Python (or similar) for data reduction, automation, and analysis workflows
- Experience supporting flight test readiness and test-to-flight transitions
- U.S. Citizenship or ability to comply with ITAR requirements
- Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance
- Experience testing low-bypass turbofan engines or propulsion subsystems on UAVs or tactical aircraft
- Familiarity with REFPROP, GFSSP, ANSYS, or FEA to support test interpretation and correlation
- Experience designing structural test fixtures, load paths, thermal management, and safety systems for hot-fire environments
- Background in controls integration, actuator testing (e.g., TVC), and transient characterization
- Experience operating in a test-driven, hardware-centric aerospace development environment
- M.S. in Aerospace Engineering or a related discipline
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.
