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Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company developing autonomous systems, aircraft, and simulation technologies for military and civilian applications. This role leads a team of engineers responsible for environmental control systems (ECS) and thermal management on the X-BAT aircraft program, with support across Group 5 programs.
You will directly manage and develop individual contributors while maintaining technical depth to guide architecture, requirements, design, integration, test, and flight readiness. The position balances people leadership, technical judgment, and hands-on problem-solving in a fast-moving aircraft development environment.
Key responsibilities include:
- Managing, mentoring, and developing engineers; setting goals, providing feedback, and building a high-trust team
- Setting priorities, ownership, and execution cadence for X-BAT and Group 5 work; removing blockers and managing dependencies
- Guiding ECS and thermal architecture, trades, and design reviews across thermal environments, cooling, airflow, ducting, heat exchangers, fluid circuits, and hardware
- Setting expectations for requirements, reviews, verification, risk management, configuration control, and design release through flight-ready hardware
- Resolving interfaces with structures, propulsion, avionics, EWIS, payloads, manufacturing, systems engineering, and test teams
- Leading component, qualification, ground, and flight test planning; ensuring data and anomaly resolution support hardware delivery
- Setting expectations for components, specifications, SOWs, supplier reviews, prototype builds, and acceptance activities
- Engaging in first-principles analysis and root-cause investigations; coaching engineers and unblocking complex technical problems
- Representing the team in program and engineering reviews; communicating decisions, risks, progress, resources, and dependencies
Requirements:
- US Citizen with an active Secret clearance or higher (required)
- 8+ years in aerospace environmental control systems, thermal engineering, fluid systems, or comparable aircraft mechanical systems development
- Direct experience managing and developing individual contributors, including setting expectations, giving feedback, and supporting career growth
- B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical discipline
- Deep understanding of thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and aircraft thermal management
- Ability to guide architecture, requirements, analysis, design, integration, and verification through hardware delivery
- Sound engineering judgment, early risk identification, and clear communication across technical and program teams
- Record of working hard, building trust, maintaining high standards, and treating others with kindness
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience managing engineers on UAV, autonomous aircraft, fighter, tactical aircraft, or other high-performance aerospace programs
- Experience with Group 5 aircraft, aircraft-level thermal management, ECS, or integrated fluid and thermal systems
- Hands-on experience with thermal and fluid testing, instrumentation, data acquisition, model correlation, or flight-test troubleshooting
- Experience with first-principles analysis, fluid-thermal network modeling, CFD, or thermal-analysis tools (FloEFD, STAR-CCM+, Thermal Desktop, Amesim, Flowmaster)
- Familiarity with aerospace environmental, qualification, and airworthiness practices (MIL-STD-810, MIL-HDBK-516, RTCA DO-160, SAE AIR/ARP standards)
- Experience with aerospace suppliers, COTS or custom components, technical specifications, SOWs, and prototype or vehicle-level test setups
- Experience hiring, onboarding, and scaling a small engineering team in rapid R&D or production environment
- Advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline
