Lead and grow the mechanical engineering team for avionics in X-BAT aircraft and ground vehicles. Own architecture, thermal, harnessing, and electro-mechanical design from concept through manufacturing, partnering with electrical, RF, PCB, reliability, supply chain, structures, and manufacturing teams to deliver flight-critical systems.
Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Job Description:
Shield AI is seeking a Senior Manager of Mechanical Engineering to build and lead the team responsible for all mechanical design, thermal, and harnessing in the X-BAT aircraft and ground vehicle. You will establish the technical vision, hire top tier engineers, and partner with all other engineer team leads to execute cross-functionally. Extreme ownership is expected where your team will carry designs from concept through manufacturing. Team leads and managers at Shield are expected to have strong technical fundamentals and a history of experience being hands on.
What you'll do:
- Lead the team responsible for the architecture and design for all mechanical, thermal, and EWIS elements of ground and flight avionics on the X-BAT program
- Take ownership of a small team of thermal, mechanical, and EWIS engineers, establish leads and sub-managers, and grow the team to support program goals in the immediate and long term
- While you will not be expected to design as an individual contributor, you must have this experience in your past to establish what "right" looks like for your organization
- Develop standards and processes for thermal and mechanical engineering of critical avionics hardware
- Partner closely with electrical engineering, RF, PCB design, reliability, supply chain, structures, manufacturing and other disciplines to drive full scope product delivery
- Own your team's output of complex electro-mechanical solutions for flight critical avionics systems that withstand harsh environments
Required qualifications:
- B.S. in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering
- 10+ years of experience in mechanical design around electronics and electrical systems
- Strong experience in CAD software (NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, or similar) for 3D modeling, drawing creation, and system layout
- Experience working with electrical engineers to develop avionics packaging
- Experience with finite element analysis (FEA), thermal analysis, and fatigue/lifecycle testing
- Experience working directly with fabrication shops, contract manufacturers, and suppliers
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, agile development environment with evolving priorities
- A demonstrated record of working hard, being trustworthy, holding yourself to high standards, and being kind to others
- Ability to obtain a Secret level security clearance
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Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
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Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.
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Lead and grow the mechanical engineering team responsible for avionics packaging, thermal, harnessing, and electro-mechanical design for the X-BAT aircraft and ground vehicle. Drive architecture, cross-functional integration, manufacturing readiness, and deliver flight-critical systems that endure harsh environments while hiring and mentoring engineering leads.
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