Shield AI is seeking a Senior Staff Structural Analysis & Vibration Engineer to serve as the structural and vibration subject-matter expert (SME) for V-BAT. V-BAT is a Group 3 vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft system in production and deployed with customers worldwide.
You will be the structural technical authority for V-BAT. You will own system loads, stress and dynamics analysis, vibration requirements and testing, and weight optimization.
This is a high-impact, company-level role. You will develop and define system-level structural requirements, design criteria, analysis methods, and material allowables that will guide structural work across V-BAT. You will also mentor engineers in FEA and structural fundamentals.
This role is ideal for engineers with 12–15+ years of experience who have served as the structural lead or technical authority on an aircraft program.
What you'll do:
- Develop and maintain company structural standards, including design criteria, factors of safety and margin policy, analysis methods, material allowables, and joint design practices.
- Own V-BAT system loads, and define structural requirements for subsystems, components, and suppliers.
- Lead and perform static, stability, modal, dynamic, and fatigue analyses of V-BAT structures using hand calculations and FEA (Simcenter).
- Lead composite structural analysis and define composite design requirements.
- Serve as the bolted joint expert for the program.
- Own vibration and shock environments. Assess existing profiles and use measured flight data to develop defensible test requirements.
- Define and improve vibration test requirements and processes, from test planning through verification, validation, and model-to-test correlation.
- Lead a program-wide weight optimization review of existing designs, and analyze new designs for weight efficiency and material selection.
- Review structural analyses, test reports, and design review content, and present findings to engineering leadership and customers.
- Mentor engineers in FEA and structural fundamentals, and build the team's structural analysis capability.
- Provide structural guidance on design changes and production issues as needed
Required qualifications:
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline.
- 12+ years of structural analysis experience on aircraft, UAS, or comparable complex system, including serving as a structural lead or technical authority.
- Experience creating structural design criteria, analysis methods, or engineering standards.
- Expert knowledge of structural mechanics and hand calculations, including strength, stability, fatigue, and structural dynamics.
- Expertise with FEA tools, preferably Siemens Simcenter (Nastran or Femap), or equivalents such as ANSYS or Abaqus.
- Significant experience analyzing composite aircraft structures and defining composite design requirements.
- Expert-level knowledge of bolted joint analysis and design.
- Hands-on experience with vibration and shock testing, including test planning, instrumentation, and data review, plus working knowledge of MIL-STD-810.
- Proven track record of mentoring engineers.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Preferred qualifications:
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering.
- Experience as the lead structural engineer on a Group 2–5 UAS, rotorcraft, or VTOL aircraft.
- Experience deriving vibration environments from flight test data (PSD analysis, fatigue damage spectrum, test tailoring).
- Experience with modal testing and FEA model correlation.
- Experience leading structural weight reduction programs.
- Experience developing composite allowables (e.g., CMH-17) and knowledge of composite manufacturing processes.
- Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-516, RTCA DO-160, and aircraft structural certification.
- Experience in startup or high-growth defense environments.
Skills Required
- Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline
- 12 or more years of structural analysis experience on aircraft, UAS, or comparable complex systems
- Experience serving as a structural lead or technical authority
- Experience creating structural design criteria, analysis methods, or engineering standards
- Expert knowledge of structural mechanics and hand calculations, including strength, stability, fatigue, and structural dynamics
- Expertise with FEA tools, preferably Siemens Simcenter, Nastran, or Femap, or equivalents such as ANSYS or Abaqus
- Significant experience analyzing composite aircraft structures and defining composite design requirements
- Expert-level knowledge of bolted joint analysis and design
- Hands-on experience with vibration and shock testing, including test planning, instrumentation, and data review
- Working knowledge of MIL-STD-810
- Proven track record of mentoring engineers
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Master of Science or Ph.D. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering
- Experience leading structural engineering for a Group 2-5 UAS, rotorcraft, or VTOL aircraft
- Experience deriving vibration environments from flight test data, including PSD analysis, fatigue damage spectrum, and test tailoring
- Experience with modal testing and FEA model correlation
- Experience leading structural weight reduction programs
- Experience developing composite allowables such as CMH-17 and knowledge of composite manufacturing processes
- Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-516, RTCA DO-160, and aircraft structural certification
- Experience in startup or high-growth defense environments
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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