Do you enjoy working in a dynamic lab environment and contributing to hardware that can directly impact the safety of service members and civilians? Shield AI is looking for a hands-on Vibration Test Engineer to help validate the next generation of intelligent autonomous systems through rigorous dynamic testing.
The Mechanical Test team's mission is to inform and improve Shield AI hardware design by quantifying product performance through custom measurement systems, specialized testing, and rigorous analysis. As a Vibration Test Engineer, you will serve as the team's subject matter expert in vibration and structural dynamics, leading efforts to characterize hardware response, validate analytical models, and ensure products can withstand demanding operational environments.
We are looking for candidates who are passionate about structural dynamics, curious about how complex systems behave under dynamic loading, and excited to solve challenging engineering problems in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. You will partner closely with Mechanical Design, Analysis, Flight Test, Manufacturing, and Reliability teams to develop test strategies, investigate failures, and improve hardware performance throughout the product lifecycle.
Success in this role requires deep technical expertise in vibration testing, strong analytical thinking, exceptional organization, and the ability to communicate complex technical findings to cross-functional engineering teams.
What you'll do:
- Lead the planning, execution, and analysis of vibration test programs supporting product development, qualification, and flight readiness.
- Design, build, and deploy instrumented test setups for vibration, modal, structural, and environmental testing using industry-standard measurement equipment.
- Execute shaker table testing including sine sweep, random vibration, sine-on-random, resonance search, dwell, and shock testing.
- Perform experimental modal analysis to characterize structural dynamics and validate finite element models.
- Develop fixture designs and test methodologies that accurately replicate operational loading conditions while minimizing fixture influence.
- Instrument hardware using accelerometers, strain gauges, force sensors, displacement sensors, and other dynamic measurement systems.
- Analyze vibration response data using frequency-domain and time-domain techniques to identify resonances, mode shapes, damping characteristics, and potential failure mechanisms.
- Partner closely with Mechanical Design and Structural Analysis engineers to correlate test results with analytical models and improve future designs.
- Investigate vibration-related hardware issues, perform root cause analysis, and recommend design improvements.
- Develop comprehensive test plans, procedures, reports, and technical presentations that clearly communicate results and engineering recommendations.
- Maintain vibration testing equipment, data acquisition systems, instrumentation, and calibration records.
- Support environmental qualification testing and other mechanical test activities as needed.
Required qualifications:
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Structural Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- Hands-on experience performing vibration testing of mechanical or aerospace systems through industry, research, internships, or competitive engineering projects.
- Experience operating electrodynamic shaker systems and associated vibration control software.
- Experience with accelerometers, signal conditioning, data acquisition systems, and dynamic instrumentation.
- Working knowledge of structural dynamics, vibration theory, modal analysis, and frequency response functions.
- Experience performing or supporting experimental modal testing and finite element model correlation.
- Familiarity with MIL-STD-810 vibration and shock testing or equivalent aerospace qualification standards.
- Experience interpreting vibration data and identifying resonances, structural response characteristics, and failure modes.
- Working knowledge of CAD software (NX preferred).
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to communicate technical findings to multidisciplinary teams.
- Demonstrated ability to take ownership of technical work, drive projects independently, and deliver high-quality results in a fast-paced engineering environment.
- Ability to obtain a Secret//Special Access Required (S//SAR) security clearance is desired.
Preferred qualifications:
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Structural Engineering, or a related technical field with an emphasis in structural dynamics or vibration.
- Experience designing vibration test fixtures and specialized dynamic test equipment.
- Experience using vibration control and data acquisition platforms such as Data Physics, Brüel & Kjær (HBK), Crystal Instruments, m+p International, LMS/Simcenter Testlab, or similar systems.
- Experience with finite element analysis software (ANSYS, Abaqus, Nastran, or equivalent) and test-analysis correlation.
- Experience with strain gauge testing, digital image correlation (DIC), or other advanced structural measurement techniques.
- Experience supporting aerospace, defense, robotics, UAV, or other high-reliability hardware development programs.
- Experience with Design of Experiments (DOE), root cause analysis, and failure investigation.
Skills Required
- B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, Structural Engineering, or related discipline
- Hands-on experience performing vibration testing of mechanical or aerospace systems
- Experience operating electrodynamic shaker systems and associated vibration control software
- Experience with accelerometers, signal conditioning, data acquisition systems, and dynamic instrumentation
- Working knowledge of structural dynamics, vibration theory, modal analysis, and frequency response functions
- Experience performing or supporting experimental modal testing and finite element model correlation
- Familiarity with MIL-STD-810 vibration and shock testing or equivalent aerospace qualification standards
- Experience interpreting vibration data and identifying resonances, structural response characteristics, and failure modes
- Working knowledge of CAD software (NX preferred)
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Demonstrated ability to take ownership of technical work and drive projects independently
- Ability to obtain a Secret//Special Access Required (S//SAR) security clearance
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Mechanical/Aerospace/Structural Engineering with emphasis in structural dynamics or vibration
- Experience designing vibration test fixtures and specialized dynamic test equipment
- Experience using vibration control and data acquisition platforms (Data Physics, HBK, Crystal Instruments, m+p, LMS/Simcenter Testlab)
- Experience with finite element analysis software (ANSYS, Abaqus, Nastran) and test-analysis correlation
- Experience with strain gauge testing, digital image correlation (DIC), or other advanced structural measurement techniques
- Experience supporting aerospace, defense, robotics, UAV, or other high-reliability hardware development programs
- Experience with Design of Experiments (DOE), root cause analysis, and failure investigation
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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