Staff Engineer, Mechanical (R5482)

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. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube. 

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. …