Staff Engineer, Propulsion - Mechanical Design; R5389 Security Clearance

Position: Staff Engineer, Propulsion - Mechanical Design (R5389) with Security Clearance
Founded in 2015, 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 and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft. 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 (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). . Follow Shield AI on Linked In , X , Instagram , and You Tube .

Job Description:

We are looking for a Staff Mechanical Design & Analysis Engineer to join the V-BAT propulsion engineering team. This role is for an engineer who can own mechanical design from concept through production release, while also performing the mechanical analysis required to prove that the design works. You will design propulsion system components and subsystems, analyze them for strength, stiffness, fatigue, vibration, thermal behavior, manufacturability, and reliability, then drive those designs through prototyping, test, release, and production cut-in.

This is not a pure analysis role and not a pure CAD role.

The right candidate is a hands-on mechanical engineer who can create excellent hardware, justify design decisions with sound engineering analysis, and own the details required to get flight-critical propulsion hardware into production. What you'll do:
* Design propulsion system components and subsystems for V-BAT, including:
* Fuel and oil delivery hardware
* Two-stroke engine components and supporting hardware
* Engine thermal-control components
* Propeller and ducted-fan-adjacent mechanical hardware
* Mounts, brackets, housings, retention features, tubing supports, and related propulsion hardware
* Perform mechanical analysis to guide and validate your designs, including:
* Static strength and stiffness analysis
* Hand calculations and fundamental sizing
* Finite element analysis where appropriate
* Fatigue and durability assessment
* Vibration and modal analysis
* Bolted-joint, bearing, shaft, bracket, and mount analysis
* Thermal growth, clearance, and tolerance-stack analysis
* Basic thermal/structural coupling where needed
* Own mechanical design trades between mass, stiffness, strength, cost, manufacturability, serviceability, and reliability.
* Create and maintain high-quality CAD models and drawing packages for propulsion components and assemblies.
* Route and retain wire harnesses, fuel lines, oil lines, cooling lines, and other propulsion-adjacent tubing or fluid systems.
* Own engineering change orders, or ECOs, for your components from problem definition through release.
* Support configuration management for the propulsion system, including accurate documentation of released hardware, prototype configurations, and production cut-ins.
* Coordinate design releases with manufacturing, quality, supply chain, flight test, program management, and other engineering teams.
* Own and execute verification and validation test campaigns for your hardware
* Analyze test data from ground and flight testing to determine whether components are meeting structural, thermal, vibration, durability, and reliability requirements.
* Work closely with electrical, mechanical, aero-performance, software, manufacturing, and flight-test engineers to ensure your designs integrate cleanly into the full aircraft.
* Investigate failures, nonconformances, production escapes, and field issues, then drive corrective actions through design updates, process changes, or test improvements.

Required qualifications:

* B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering.
* 5+ years of professional mechanical design experience.
* Strong proficiency with 3D CAD modeling and detailed mechanical design.
* Experience developing production-ready engineering drawings and documentation.
* Understanding of GD&T (Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing) and manufacturing processes.
* Experience owning components through the full product lifecycle from concept through production.
* Experience supporting prototype builds, testing, and design iteration.
* Strong cross-functional communication and project coordination…