# Senior Staff Aerostructures Design Engineer (R5846)

**Company**: Shield AI
**Location**: Dallas, Texas
**Work arrangement**: onsite
**Experience**: senior
**Job type**: Full Time Employee
**Salary**: USD 170,000-260,000 per-year-salary
**Category**: Engineering
**Industry**: Technology

**Apply**: https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/ea3f353d-4060-4f42-b19d-a9862d4b1898?utm_source=yubhub.co&utm_medium=jobs_feed&utm_campaign=apply
**Canonical**: https://yubhub.co/jobs/job_5cd453be-8e1

## Description

Shield AI is seeking a highly motivated Senior Staff Aerostructures Design Engineer to support the design, development, integration, and fielding of a next-generation autonomous aircraft system. This position requires a balance of technical rigor, rapid decision-making, and hands-on engineering to efficiently transition concepts into operational capability.

## Responsibilities

The successful candidate will:

- Lead the design and development of structural components and assemblies for Shield AI's next-gen UAV platform, focusing on primary and secondary aircraft structures.

- Own the structural design lifecycle, including concept generation, CAD modeling, detail design, and drawing release, ensuring high quality and traceability.

- Utilize FEA tools to perform and guide linear and nonlinear structural analysis, stress analysis, and margin assessment under operational loads and edge cases.

- Collaborate closely with aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics, payload, and manufacturing teams to ensure seamless system integration across airframe and subsystem interfaces.

- Support and lead efforts in material selection, focusing on composites, aluminum alloys, and advanced manufacturing approaches suited to mission and environment.

- Participate in and lead design reviews, architecture discussions, and technical decision-making forums related to structural systems.

- Oversee the design and execution of structural validation testing, including coupon-level, subcomponent, and full-system testing.

- Guide the development of design documentation, analysis reports, interface definitions, and verification plans in compliance with MIL-STD, FAA, and internal Shield AI standards.

- Mentor junior engineers and review team members' work for technical rigor, performance, and manufacturability.

- Collaborate with the manufacturing and flight test teams to transition designs from engineering to production and field deployment.

- Identify opportunities to improve design processes, configuration management, and team workflows for increased engineering velocity and design quality.

## Requirements

- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline.

- 10+ years of experience in aircraft structural design, with demonstrated ownership of components or systems in development, test, or production.

- Deep understanding of composite and metallic structures, including material behavior, joints, and thermal/environmental effects.

- Expertise in CAD tools (NX, CATIA, or SolidWorks) and FEA tools (ANSYS, Abaqus, NASTRAN, or similar).

- Experience conducting or overseeing stress analysis, fatigue analysis, and design optimization.

- Strong working knowledge of DFMA, GD&T, tolerance stackups, and structural layout principles.

- Clear, concise technical communication skills and experience leading cross-functional engineering efforts.

- A track record of technical excellence, high ownership, and a mission-driven mindset in challenging engineering environments.

- Ability to get a S//SAR level security clearance desired.

## Preferred Qualifications

- M.S. degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering.

- Strong NX CAD skills.

- Experience supporting or leading Group 3–5 UAV, DoD aircraft, or high-performance aerospace vehicle programs.

- Knowledge of aerospace standards (MIL-STD, ASME Y14.5, FAA FARS) and certification pathways.

- Prior experience in flight vehicle integration, manufacturing liaison, or production support.

- Familiarity with model-based engineering, digital twin development, or configuration management tools.

- Demonstrated experience in failure analysis, design iteration, and test correlation.

- Previous work in startup, R&D, or high-growth defense environments where agility and innovation are key.

## Additional Information

- Salary: USD 170,000-260,000 per-year-salary

- Full-time regular employee offer package: Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity

- Temporary employee offer package: Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)

## Skills

### Required
- Mechanical Engineering
- Aerospace Engineering
- CAD tools (NX, CATIA, or SolidWorks)
- FEA tools (ANSYS, Abaqus, NASTRAN, or similar)
- Stress analysis
- Fatigue analysis
- Design optimization
- DFMA
- GD&T
- Structural layout principles

### Nice to have
- M.S. degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering
- NX CAD skills
- Experience with Group 3–5 UAV, DoD aircraft, or high-performance aerospace vehicle programs
- Aerospace standards (MIL-STD, ASME Y14.5, FAA FARS)
- Flight vehicle integration
- Manufacturing liaison
- Production support
- Model-based engineering
- Digital twin development
- Configuration management tools

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Source: [Apply at jobs.lever.co](https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/ea3f353d-4060-4f42-b19d-a9862d4b1898?utm_source=yubhub.co&utm_medium=jobs_feed&utm_campaign=apply)