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Shield AI, a venture-backed defense-tech company, is seeking a Senior Staff Aerostructures Design Engineer to lead the structural design and development of next-generation autonomous aircraft. This is a high-ownership role within the Mechanical Engineering team, focused on primary and secondary airframe structures for advanced UAV platforms.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead design and development of structural components and assemblies, from concept through production-ready hardware
- Own the full structural design lifecycle: concept generation, CAD modeling, detail design, and drawing release with high traceability
- Perform and guide linear and nonlinear FEA, stress analysis, and margin assessment under operational loads and edge cases
- Collaborate across aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics, payload, and manufacturing teams to ensure seamless system integration
- Drive material selection efforts, focusing on composites, aluminum alloys, and advanced manufacturing approaches
- Lead design reviews, architecture discussions, and technical decision-making forums on structural systems
- Oversee structural validation testing from coupon-level through full-system testing
- Develop design documentation, analysis reports, interface definitions, and verification plans compliant with MIL-STD, FAA, and internal standards
- Mentor junior engineers and review team members' work for technical rigor, performance, and manufacturability
- Support transition of designs from engineering to production and field deployment
- Identify opportunities to improve design processes, configuration management, and team workflows
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline
- 10+ years of experience in aircraft structural design with demonstrated ownership of components or systems in development, test, or production
- Deep understanding of composite and metallic structures, including material behavior, joints, and thermal/environmental effects
- Expertise in CAD tools (NX, CATIA, or SolidWorks) and FEA tools (ANSYS, Abaqus, NASTRAN, or similar)
- Experience conducting or overseeing stress analysis, fatigue analysis, and design optimization
- Strong working knowledge of DFMA, GD&T, tolerance stackups, and structural layout principles
- Clear, concise technical communication skills and experience leading cross-functional engineering efforts
- Track record of technical excellence, high ownership, and mission-driven mindset in challenging engineering environments
- Ability to obtain S//SAR level security clearance (desired)
Preferred Qualifications:
- M.S. degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering
- Strong NX CAD skills
- Experience supporting or leading Group 3–5 UAV, DoD aircraft, or high-performance aerospace vehicle programs
- Knowledge of aerospace standards (MIL-STD, ASME Y14.5, FAA FARS) and certification pathways
- Prior experience in flight vehicle integration, manufacturing liaison, or production support
- Familiarity with model-based engineering, digital twin development, or configuration management tools
- Demonstrated experience in failure analysis, design iteration, and test correlation
- Previous work in startup, R&D, or high-growth defense environments emphasizing agility and innovation
