Summer - Mechanical Engineering Intern, Air Vehicle Systems and Test

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 (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). Follow Shield AI on Linked In, X, Instagram, and You Tube.

Our Summer Internship program is a wonderful opportunity for Fall and Spring graduates to immerse themselves in an innovative and mission driven culture. Our paid internship program will provide you with hands on mentorship, an opportunity to add real contribution to our company via your internship project, and a possible job offer at the end. You will have the chance to make lifelong friendships, expand your network, and learn all about what it's like to work in a high-growth, fast scaling tech unicorn.

You'll take part in company sponsored events and enjoy exploring a new city. Read on below to learn more about this unique internship!

The Air Vehicle Systems and Test Teams develop, integrate, and verify the mechanical and fluid systems that make Shield AI's autonomous aircraft function as complete vehicles.

The team works across actuation and mechanisms, fluid and thermal systems, equipment installations, test hardware, instrumentation, and interfaces with structures, electrical systems, propulsion, and manufacturing. As an intern, you will work alongside engineers on a real program need, taking a scoped project from requirements and concept development through design, build, test, data review, and design improvement.

• Own a scoped design project and contribute to adjacent team needs. The primary project may focus on aircraft hardware design and integration, a component or subsystem test stand, an environmental-test fixture, or a new test method.
• Translate the project objective into clear requirements, interfaces, success criteria, a build plan, and a test approach with support from your mentor and project stakeholders.
• Develop CAD models and drawings for brackets, mounts, tooling, fixtures, routing, or other hardware while considering loads, tolerances, access, manufacturability, and maintainability.
• Use first-principles calculations and appropriate engineering tools to size hardware, make tradeoffs, predict performance, and identify technical risks before test.
• Support fabrication, procurement, assembly, instrumentation, checkout, and troubleshooting of test articles, fixtures, and related hardware.
• Define instrumentation and data-acquisition needs; write clear test procedures; and support component or subsystem testing under mentor supervision.
• Reduce and interpret test data, compare results with requirements and predictions, document conclusions, and recommend practical design or test-process improvements.
• Participate in design and test reviews, maintain clear engineering documentation, and present your work and results at the end of the internship. Other duties may be assigned as team needs evolve.

• Currently pursuing an undergraduate, graduate, or Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related STEM field.
• Strong foundation in mechanics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, physics, and mathematics, plus enough electrical and programming fluency to work on multidisciplinary hardware.
• Experience on a multidisciplinary hardware project through an internship, job, research lab, student team, club, or personal project, etc.
• Great written and verbal communication.
• Demons…