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Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company developing autonomous systems, UAV aircraft, and simulation technologies for military and civilian operations. This Staff Engineer role (L4) focuses on fluid and mechanical systems for a Group 5 UAV fighter aircraft platform.
You will own the design and maturation of aircraft fluid systems including ram-air circuits, liquid cooling loops, environmental control systems (ECS), thermal management systems (TMS), and hydraulic distribution. This is a hands-on, multi-disciplinary position requiring both technical rigor and rapid decision-making in an accelerated aircraft development environment.
Key responsibilities:
- Develop and mature fluid system layouts for ram-air, cooling, ECS/TMS, and hydraulic circuits, including routing, packaging, and installation concepts
- Perform pressure-drop, flow-balance, pump/reservoir sizing, and thermal-transport calculations to establish system performance and hardware requirements
- Build and maintain fluid and thermal system models using tools like Flowmaster, AMESim, or GFSSP to support design decisions and requirements verification
- Design supporting mechanical hardware including brackets, mounts, line supports, and installation provisions; perform tolerance analysis and basic FEA
- Select and specify pumps, valves, heat exchangers, accumulators, filters, lines, fittings, and actuators
- Resolve interfaces with structures, electrical systems, thermal management, and adjacent mechanical systems
- Support failure mode analysis, contamination control, leak prevention, and system redundancy definition
- Drive component sourcing, supplier technical execution, prototype assembly, and test-fixture development
- Define and execute qualification test plans per MIL-STD-810 and support MIL-HDBK-516 airworthiness certification
Requirements:
- US Citizen with Active Secret clearance or higher (required)
- 7–12 years of fluid systems design, thermal systems analysis, or mechanical systems installation experience in aerospace or comparable regulated industry
- B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical discipline
- Deep mastery of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, mechanical design fundamentals, and tolerance stack-up methodologies
- Demonstrated capability with fluid system sizing and analysis, pressure drop, flow networks, heat transfer, and 1D fluid/thermal system modeling
- Demonstrated ability to create fluid-system layouts and mechanical installations meeting routing, packaging, maintainability, structural-interface, and vehicle-integration requirements
- Experience with 3D CAD modeling, routing, layouts, and drawing release in Siemens NX, CATIA, Creo, SolidWorks, or equivalent PLM workflows
- Hands-on capability designing brackets, mounts, supports, and installation hardware using hand calculations, tolerance analysis, and basic structural analysis
- Proven track record sourcing COTS/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
Preferred qualifications:
- Aircraft ram-air, liquid cooling, hydraulic, fuel, or thermal transport loop design experience
- ECS or thermal management system design and integration experience
- Experience with electro-mechanical or electro-hydrostatic actuation systems and mechanical installations
- Familiarity with MIL-STD-810, MIL-HDBK-516, and airworthiness verification planning for fluid and mechanical systems
- Hands-on prototype-build, fabrication, or mechanical assembly experience in rapid R&D environment
