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Shield AI, a venture-backed defense-tech company, is seeking a Senior Staff Engineer to own the Flight Control Actuation Systems (FCAS) for the Ranger (R6327) program. This is a technical leadership role focused on the design, analysis, and qualification of control surface actuation systems for fixed-wing aircraft.
Key Responsibilities:
- Define and own FCAS requirements and verification traceability matrix, establishing system-level ownership across the program.
- Design and analyze control surface actuation systems, including sizing, dynamic response, bandwidth, redundancy analysis, and failure mode assessment.
- Drive the control law-actuator interface with Flight Controls and Vehicle Management Systems teams, including actuator dynamics modeling and control surface authority requirements.
- Lead actuator power source architecture and load analysis with EPS and hydraulic systems leads; resolve actuator heat generation and thermal-load interfaces with thermal management.
- Coordinate control surface hinge moments and actuator reaction loads with structures engineering.
- Define and execute FCAS qualification test plans per MIL-HDBK-516 and MIL-STD-810; use test results to mature qualified flight-control actuation hardware.
- Lead FCAS design-maturity and qualification-status reviews at SRR, PDR, and CDR milestones.
Shield AI's portfolio includes Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies, with operations worldwide across the U.S., Europe, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
Requirements:
- 8 to 15 years of experience in flight control actuation system design on fixed-wing aircraft.
- B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical discipline.
- Proven track record sourcing COTS and custom aerospace components, driving suppliers to schedule, and assembling benchtop or vehicle-level test setups.
- Demonstrated ability to self-direct, prioritize technical tasks without oversight, and deliver functional hardware under tight timelines.
- Demonstrated experience with actuator dynamic performance analysis, including bandwidth, response, stability margins, failure mode analysis, and redundancy analysis.
- Experience coordinating with flight controls and VMS engineers on actuator-control law integration.
- Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-516 and MIL-STD-810 as applied to flight control actuation; experience supporting SRR, PDR, and CDR on a DoD or fighter-class aircraft program.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Prior fighter or fighter-adjacent program experience (manned or unmanned).
- Unmanned or autonomous flight control experience, including redundancy philosophy differences from manned aircraft.
- Experience with EMA or EHA control surface actuators.
- Secret clearance eligible.
