We are seeking a Staff Mechanical Engineer who can lead complex hardware efforts from concept through deployment. This individual will own mechanical design and system integration while developing high-quality, production-ready engineering definitions.
The ideal candidate combines system-level technical leadership with deep, hands-on experience in 3D CAD, 2D production drawings, advanced GD&T, material selection, and manufacturing processes. This role will integrate electronics, RF systems, and composite structures into rugged, field-ready airborne platforms.
What you'll do:
- Lead mechanical design and integration for airborne or ruggedized systems from concept through production and field deployment.
- Develop and review complex 3D CAD models, assemblies, interfaces, 2D production drawings, BOMs, and release packages.
- Establish functional datum structures, apply advanced GD&T, and perform tolerance analyses to ensure fit, function, interchangeability, and inspectability.
- Own system-level packaging of electronics, including radios, antennas, PCBAs, and harnessing.
- Design components and assemblies using metallics, plastics, composites, elastomers, adhesives, and other engineering materials.
- Select appropriate materials and manufacturing processes based on structural, thermal, environmental, producibility, cost, and schedule requirements.
- Design for manufacturing processes including CNC machining, additive manufacturing, injection molding, composite fabrication, sheet metal, and bonded assembly.
- Drive cross-functional collaboration across electrical, RF, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and test teams.
- Serve as technical or project lead on select efforts, managing scope, schedule, risk, and technical execution.
- Lead design reviews and guide structural, thermal, tolerance, environmental, and manufacturability analyses.
- Support prototype builds, qualification, production integration, troubleshooting, and root-cause investigations.
- Ensure designs meet reliability, manufacturability, inspectability, maintainability, and performance requirements.
Required qualifications;
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering field.
- 8+ years of mechanical design and product-development experience, including demonstrated ownership of complex products or subsystems from concept through production.
- Advanced proficiency in GD&T and ASME Y14.5, including functional datum selection, position, profile, form and orientation controls, composite feature control frames, tolerance-zone modifiers, and design for inspection.
- Deep experience creating and releasing detailed 2D production drawings for complex parts and assemblies, demonstrated through a substantial body of work
- Strong proficiency with a production CAD platform such as NX, Creo, CATIA, SolidWorks, or Inventor, including complex part modeling, large assemblies, drawing creation, and revision-controlled release.
- Experience developing hardware using a broad range of materials, including metallics, engineering plastics, composites, elastomers, and structural adhesives.
- Practical design-for-manufacturing experience across multiple processes, including CNC machining, additive manufacturing, injection molding, composite fabrication, sheet metal, and bonded or mechanically fastened assembly.
- Strong understanding of material selection, tolerance analysis, manufacturing variation, assembly processes, and inspection methods.
- Proven ability to work cross-functionally with manufacturing, quality, electrical engineering, supply chain, technicians, suppliers, and machine shops.
- Demonstrated ability to independently lead technical decisions and resolve complex design, manufacturing, and integration problems.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience with Siemens NX and Teamcenter.
- Experience designing and integrating airborne, aerospace, defense, or other ruggedized hardware.
- Experience packaging radios, antennas, PCBAs, sensors, connectors, and embedded electronics.
- Familiarity with coaxial cables, RF cables, wiring harnesses, bend-radius requirements, and connector integration.
- Experience designing composite structures and hybrid composite-metal assemblies.
- Understanding of electronics thermal management, grounding, shielding, and EMI/EMC considerations.
- Familiarity with environmental requirements involving vibration, shock, temperature, corrosion, and ingress protection.
- Experience with ground support equipment, test fixtures, or qualification hardware.
- Hands-on experience supporting prototype builds, production, environmental testing, and field troubleshooting.
Leadership expectations:
- Act as the technical lead for complex projects, systems, or major subsystems.
- Lead design reviews and make sound technical decisions with incomplete information.
- Review and approve CAD models, engineering drawings, tolerance schemes, material selections, and manufacturing approaches.
- Mentor engineers in mechanical design, GD&T, drawing creation, material selection, and design for manufacturing.
- Balance development speed with the rigor required to deliver reliable, production-ready aerospace hardware.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
- 8+ years of experience in mechanical design and product development.
- Strong experience with CAD (e.g., NX, SolidWorks, Creo).
- Proven ability to take products from concept to production.
- Experience working in cross-functional engineering environments.
- Demonstrated ownership of projects or subsystems with minimal oversight.
- Experience integrating electronics into mechanical systems (radios, antennas, RF components).
- Experience with PCBAs and embedded electronics.
- Familiarity with wiring and cable systems, including coax, RF cables, and harness design (e.g., RG-series).
- Experience designing for composite structures and hybrid assemblies (composite + metal).
- Understanding of thermal management for electronics (heat dissipation, airflow, conduction paths).
- Knowledge of grounding, shielding, and EMI/EMC considerations.
- Experience with ground support equipment (GSE) design or test infrastructure.
- Familiarity with environmental requirements (vibration, shock, temperature, ingress).
- Experience working closely with RF or electrical engineering teams on system integration.
- Hands-on build, integration, and troubleshooting experience.
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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Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
