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Shield AI is seeking an Air Vehicle Lead to serve as the senior technical leader for a new autonomous aircraft program. In this highly technical, hands-on leadership role, you will own the technical integrity of the air vehicle and lead a multidisciplinary engineering team through all phases of development—from requirements and architecture through detailed design, ground testing, flight testing, and production.
You will be responsible for the design, development, integration, and maturation of the aircraft as a complete system. This includes working across multiple engineering disciplines: aerodynamics, flight sciences, structures, mechanical systems, propulsion, avionics, electrical systems, flight controls, manufacturing, and test. Your core responsibilities include ensuring the aircraft performs as an integrated system, making difficult technical trade-offs, challenging assumptions, managing technical risk, and driving the team toward simple, robust solutions at speed.
This role requires deep aerospace engineering expertise combined with strong leadership capabilities. You will guide a multidisciplinary team, make critical technical decisions, and maintain accountability for program success. The position is based in San Diego, California, where Shield AI operates one of its primary facilities.
Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company developing autonomous aircraft and autonomy software for military and defense applications. The company operates globally with offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
