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.

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

Senior Manager, Avionics Mechanical Engineering (R4416)

What you'll do:

Required qualifications:

Ready to apply?