Intern Project Scope & Description:
- Own requirements gathering, design, and validation of multiple test stands used to test components and subsystems on X-BAT or V-BAT
- Design tooling to hold devices-under-test (DUTs) during environmental testing.
- Design test stands and test fixtures that interface with engines, electric motors, circuit boards, and various other aeronautical components.
- Specify facilities requirements (electrical, plumbing, etc…) for environmental test chambers.
- Contribute to and attend cross-functional design reviews. Advocate for design changes that result in simpler testing processes.
- Other duties as assigned.
Required qualifications:
- You are an undergraduate, graduate or PhD student pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering or related STEM field.
- Strong understanding of fundamental engineering concepts, including EE, Mech E, Programming, Physics, and Mathematics.
- Experience working on multidisciplinary hardware development projects, which can be from an internship, job, club, team, personal project, etc.
- Great written and verbal communication.
- Demonstrated history of showing ownership of project outcomes and delivering exceptional results.
- Record of working hard, being a trustworthy teammate, holding yourself and others to high standards, and being kind to others.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience with CAD tools such as SolidWorks, NX, CATIA, etc… (NX preferred).
- Ability to rapidly manufacture your designs in a machine shop.
- Experience working with internal combustion engines. This could be in design, tuning, and/or assembly.
- Familiarity with designing mechanical tooling or test fixtures.
- Demonstrated adaptability, agility, and the ability to innovate under pressure to meet dynamic project demands and drive successful
Skills Required
- Currently pursuing an undergraduate, graduate, or PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related STEM field
- Strong understanding of engineering fundamentals, including electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, programming, physics, and mathematics
- Experience with multidisciplinary hardware development projects through an internship, job, club, team, or personal project
- Strong written and verbal communication skills
- Demonstrated ownership of project outcomes and delivery of exceptional results
- Experience with CAD tools such as SolidWorks, NX, or CATIA; NX preferred
- Ability to rapidly manufacture designs in a machine shop
- Experience designing, tuning, or assembling internal combustion engines
- Familiarity with designing mechanical tooling or test fixtures
- Adaptability, agility, and ability to innovate under pressure
What the Team is Saying
Shield Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, and vision coverage are described as strong and affordable, and offerings include a mental-health assistance program. Overall impressions point to good plan value for many employees.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with employer matching is highlighted positively, with accounts describing a company match and favorable experiences. Current match formulas and vesting are noted as worth confirming.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Full-time hires receive equity (often via RSUs), positioned as a meaningful component of total rewards. A double-trigger structure is noted as potentially deferring taxes until a liquidity event.
Shield Insights
What We Do
At Shield 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 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 Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
