What you'll do:
- Architecture and Trades: Lead ECS architecture definition and trade studies (e.g., vapor cycle vs. air cycle vs. passive/ram-air systems) to meet vehicle thermal, electrical, mass, and volume constraints.
- Aerothermal and Circuit Design: Design and analyze vehicle air inlets, scoops, ducting networks, and ram-air cooling circuits to ensure adequate flow across flight envelopes.
- Thermal and Fluid System Sizing: Perform first-principles thermodynamic and heat transfer hand calculations, backed by 1D fluid-thermal network modeling.
- Component Sourcing and Vendor Management: Author technical specifications and statements of work (SOW) for ECS hardware (heat exchangers, fans, valves, compressors, sensors), evaluate vendors, and drive supplier technical execution.
- Test and Validation: Define qualification and verification test plans, design test rigs, support instrumentation/DAQ setup, and execute test campaigns to validate performance against requirements.
- Flight Test and Troubleshooting: Process flight-test thermal and fluid data to identify discrepancies, resolve anomalies via root-cause investigation, and implement rapid design changes.
Required qualifications:
- Clearance required: US Citizens Only & Must have an Active Secret or higher clearance.
- Experience: 8 to 15 years of direct experience in aerospace Environmental Control System and vehicle thermal/fluid system development.
- Education: B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- Core Fundamentals: Deep mastery of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer applied to aircraft or defense systems.
- Modeling and Analysis: Demonstrated capability with 1D system modeling (e.g., Amesim, Flowmaster, or Python/MATLAB fluid networks) and ability to size systems from inlets to ram circuits to liquid cooling systems, air cooling systems, and more.
- CAD and PLM: Experience in 3D CAD modeling, routing, and drawing release (Siemens NX preferred, or equivalent like CATIA/Creo) with PLM workflows.
- Hardware and Supplier Execution: Proven track record sourcing COTS/custom aerospace components, driving suppliers to schedule, and assembling benchtop or vehicle-level test setups.
- Autonomy: Demonstrated ability to self-direct, prioritize technical tasks without oversight, and deliver functional hardware under tight timelines.
Preferred qualifications:
- Familiarity with aerospace environmental requirements and test standards (e.g., MIL-STD-810, MIL-HDBK-310, RTCA DO-160, SAE AIR/ARP standards).
Skills Required
- US citizenship
- Active Secret or higher security clearance
- 8 to 15 years of direct aerospace Environmental Control System and vehicle thermal/fluid system development experience
- B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline
- Deep mastery of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer applied to aircraft or defense systems
- Experience with 1D system modeling using tools such as Amesim, Flowmaster, Python, or MATLAB fluid networks
- Ability to size systems including inlets, ram circuits, liquid cooling systems, and air cooling systems
- Experience with 3D CAD modeling, routing, drawing release, and PLM workflows
- Experience with Siemens NX or equivalent CAD software such as CATIA or Creo
- Experience sourcing COTS or custom aerospace components and managing supplier technical execution
- Experience assembling benchtop or vehicle-level test setups
- Ability to self-direct, prioritize technical tasks, and deliver functional hardware under tight timelines
- Familiarity with aerospace environmental requirements and standards including MIL-STD-810, MIL-HDBK-310, RTCA DO-160, or SAE AIR/ARP standards
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as excellent, with dental/vision and mental‑health support, and ancillary protections like life and disability appearing in benefit summaries. The breadth and perceived affordability of coverage are highlighted as a standout component of the package.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is featured alongside enhanced maternity benefits, fertility and childcare support, and onsite resources such as a Mother’s Room. These elements are positioned as competitive and above the minimal baseline for the company’s stage.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity is granted to all full‑time hires, with RSUs, double‑trigger tax timing, and tools to model scenarios (e.g., through Carta Tax). Communications also reference a transition from options to RSUs, reinforcing access and maturity of ownership programs.
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.
