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Shield AI is seeking an experienced Deputy Chief Engineer for X-BAT, an autonomous combat aircraft program. You will report to the Air Vehicle Lead / Chief Engineer and serve as the primary technical deputy across all phases of aircraft development—from design and integration through test and maturation.
You will maintain the technical integrity of the air vehicle while driving day-to-day engineering execution across structures, aerodynamics, propulsion, mechanical systems, avionics, electrical systems, flight controls, software, autonomy integration, manufacturing, and flight test. This is a leadership role requiring broad aircraft technical depth, strong systems thinking, sound engineering judgment, and demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary teams through ambiguity.
Key responsibilities include:
- Serve as primary technical deputy to the Air Vehicle Lead, translating program objectives into engineering priorities
- Maintain the air vehicle's technical baseline (requirements, architecture, interfaces, configuration, performance, verification, airworthiness)
- Lead day-to-day integration of engineering activities across all disciplines
- Drive aircraft-level technical decisions and trade studies grounded in first-principles analysis
- Establish and manage a disciplined technical-risk process with early identification, accountability, and mitigation
- Lead major technical and design reviews to ensure aircraft maturity for fabrication, ground test, flight test, qualification, and production
- Partner with Program Management to align technical scope with schedule, budget, and commitments
- Work with Manufacturing and Supply Chain to ensure designs are producible and scalable
- Partner with Test and Flight Operations to define verification strategies and test objectives
- Lead root-cause investigations and corrective actions for complex aircraft-level problems
- Ensure technical decisions are documented and reflected in the controlled product baseline
- Develop technical leadership capabilities of engineering managers and senior contributors
- Communicate aircraft status, risks, and recovery plans to leadership, executives, customers, and partners
- Foster a culture of technical excellence, urgency, ownership, and constructive challenge
Requirements:
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related technical discipline
- 12+ years of progressive experience developing complex aircraft, military aerospace systems, autonomous aircraft, or similarly integrated aerospace products
- Demonstrated technical leadership on an aircraft-development program (Chief Engineer, Deputy Chief Engineer, Air Vehicle Lead, Systems Engineering Lead, or equivalent)
- Broad understanding of aircraft design and integration across multiple engineering disciplines with ability to identify critical interfaces and system-level consequences
- Experience taking an aircraft or complex aerospace system through multiple lifecycle stages (requirements, preliminary/critical design, fabrication, integration, ground test, flight test, qualification, production)
- Experience establishing and managing system requirements, technical baselines, interface definitions, design reviews, verification plans, and engineering risks
- Demonstrated ability to make high-quality technical decisions with incomplete information under aggressive timelines
- Strong written and verbal communication skills for explaining complex technical issues to executive and customer audiences
- Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams in fast-paced development environments
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance
Preferred qualifications include a Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, or Engineering Management; experience with clean-sheet military aircraft, fighter aircraft, unmanned systems, or advanced VTOL; experience with propulsion integration, flight controls, autonomy, or low-observable aircraft; background in military airworthiness and model-based systems engineering; experience transitioning aircraft from prototype to production; and background working with DoD, military customers, and strategic partners.
