Supplier Development Engineer - Structures & Welding; R5984

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 Linked In, X, Instagram, and You Tube.

Job Description:

• Lead the technical development and performance improvement of suppliers supporting welded assemblies, large metallic structures, sheet metal components, and complex structural assemblies.
• Assess supplier capabilities across welding, sheet metal forming, structural fabrication, machining, assembly, tooling, inspection, and special processes.
• Conduct supplier capability assessments, manufacturing readiness reviews, process audits, capacity analyses, and onsite technical evaluations.
• Partner with Strategic Sourcing and Engineering to evaluate and select suppliers capable of meeting technical, quality, cost, schedule, and production-rate requirements.
• Serve as the primary technical interface between suppliers and internal Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Program teams.
• Lead supplier industrialization activities, including manufacturing planning, tooling and fixture readiness, process validation, capacity planning, qualification, and production ramp-up.
• Review engineering drawings, specifications, GD&T, bills of material, weld symbols, material requirements, special-process requirements, and statements of work.
• Evaluate supplier welding capabilities, including welding equipment, personnel qualifications, weld procedures, process controls, inspection methods, and compliance with applicable aerospace welding standards.
• Review welding procedure specifications, procedure qualification records, welder certifications, and nondestructive inspection requirements.
• Work with suppliers to control weld distortion, residual stress, dimensional variation, heat-affected zones, joint fit-up, and other risks associated with large welded structures.
• Evaluate sheet metal forming processes such as brake forming, roll forming, stretch forming, hydro forming, stamping, and complex contour forming.
• Assess supplier tooling strategies for large structures and sheet metal components, including weld fixtures, assembly jigs, forming tools, trim tools, and inspection fixtures.
• Drive design-for-manufacturability and design-for-assembly discussions to improve joint design, tooling access, weld accessibility, dimensional control, producibility, cost, and lead time.
• Lead technical problem-solving involving weld defects, forming defects, spring back, distortion, dimensional nonconformances, tooling issues, material variability, and assembly fit-up.
• Develop and manage supplier technical development plans, production readiness plans, capacity recovery plans, and corrective-action plans.
• Apply structured root-cause and corrective-action methods, including 8D, 5-Why, fishbone analysis, fault-tree analysis, and other appropriate problem-solving tools.
• Review and approve supplier manufacturing documentation, including process flow diagrams, manufacturing plans, weld plans, inspection plans, control plans, PFMEAs, work instructions, and qualification documentation.
• Coordinate First Article Inspection activities in accordance with AS9102 and support the resolution of FAI discrepancies and manufacturing nonconformances.
• Evaluate supplier production capacity using cycle times, yield, equipment availability, skilled labor, tooling, floor space, material flow, and inspection capacity.
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