Staff Engineer, Mechanical (R4887)

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai https://shield.ai/. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/shield-ai, X https://x.com/shieldaitech, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shield_ai, and YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@Shield_AI. JOB DESCRIPTION: We are seeking a Staff Mechanical Engineer who can lead complex hardware efforts from concept through deployment. This individual will own mechanical design and system integration while developing high-quality, production-ready engineering definitions. The ideal candidate combines system-level technical leadership with deep, hands-on experience in 3D CAD, 2D production drawings, advanced GD&T, material selection, and manufacturing processes. This role will integrate electronics, RF systems, and composite structures into rugged, field-ready airborne platforms. What you'll do: - - Lead mechanical design and integration for airborne or ruggedized systems from concept through production and field deployment. - Develop and review complex 3D CAD models, assemblies, interfaces, 2D production drawings, BOMs, and release packages. - Establish functional datum structures, apply advanced GD&T, and perform tolerance analyses to ensure fit, function, interchangeability, and inspectability. - Own system-level packaging of electronics, including radios, antennas, PCBAs, and harnessing. - Design components and assemblies using metallics, plastics, composites, elastomers, adhesives, and other engineering materials. - Select appropriate materials and manufacturing processes based on structural, thermal, environmental, producibility, cost, and schedule requirements. - Design for manufacturing processes including CNC machining, additive manufacturing, injection molding, composite fabrication, sheet metal, and bonded assembly. - Drive cross-functional collaboration across electrical, RF, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, and test teams. - Serve as technical or project lead on select efforts, managing scope, schedule, risk, and technical execution. - Lead design reviews and guide structural, thermal, tolerance, environmental, and manufacturability analyses. - Support prototype builds, qualification, production integration, troubleshooting, and root-cause investigations. - Ensure designs meet reliability, manufacturability, inspectability, maintainability, and performance requirements. Required qualifications: - - Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering field. - 8+ years of mechanical design and product-development experience, including demonstrated ownership of complex products or subsystems from concept through production. - Advanced proficiency in GD&T and ASME Y14.5, including functional datum selection, position, profile, form and orientation controls, composite feature control frames, tolerance-zone modifiers, and design for inspection. - Deep experience creating and releasing detailed 2D production drawings for complex parts and assemblies, demonstrated through a substantial body of work - Strong proficiency with a production CAD platform such as NX, Creo, CATIA, SolidWorks, or Inventor, including complex part modeling, large assemblies, drawing creation, and revision-controlled release. - Experience developing hardware using a broad range of materials, including metallics, engineering plastics, composites, elastomers, and structural adhesives. - Practical design-for-manufacturing experience across multiple processes, including CNC machining, additive manufacturing, injection molding, composite fabrication, sheet metal, and bonded or mechanically fastened assembly. - Strong understanding of material selection, tolerance analysis, manufacturing variation, assembly processes, and inspection methods. - Proven ability to work cross-functionally with manufacturing, quality, electrical engineering, supply chain, technicians, suppliers, and machine shops. - Demonstrated ability to independently lead technical decisions and resolve complex design, manufacturing, and integration problems. Preferred qualifications: - - Experience with Siemens NX and Teamcenter. - Experience designing and integrating airborne, aerospace, defense, or other ruggedized hardware. - Experience packaging radios, antennas, PCBAs, sensors, connectors, and embedded electronics. - Familiarity with coaxial cables, RF cables, wiring harnesses, bend-radius requirements, and connector integration. - Experience designing composite structures and hybrid composite-metal assemblies. - Understanding of electronics thermal management, grounding, shielding, and EMI/EMC considerations. - Familiarity with environmental requirements involving vibration, shock, temperature, corrosion, and ingress protection. - Experience with ground support equipment, test fixtures, or qualification hardware. - Hands-on experience supporting prototype builds, production, environmental testing, and field troubleshooting. Leadership Expectations - Act as the technical lead for complex projects, systems, or major subsystems. - Lead design reviews and make sound technical decisions with incomplete information. - Review and approve CAD models, engineering drawings, tolerance schemes, material selections, and manufacturing approaches. - Mentor engineers in mechanical design, GD&T, drawing creation, material selection, and design for manufacturing. - Balance development speed with the rigor required to deliver reliable, production-ready aerospace hardware. Full-time regular employee offer package: Pay within range listed