Staff Engineer, Fluid and Mechanical Systems (RX) (R6000)

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.

As a Staff (L4) Fluid and Mechanical Systems Engineer, you will be a hands-on multi-disciplinary owner of fluid-system layouts, thermal transport hardware, and adjacent mechanical design for a Group 5 UAV fighter aircraft. You will apply first-principles engineering to develop ram-air circuits, liquid cooling systems, ECS/TMS fluid architecture, and supporting mechanical installations that are buildable, maintainable, and ready for vehicle integration.

Responsibilities

• Fluid System Layouts: Develop and mature aircraft fluid system layouts for ram-air circuits, liquid cooling loops, ECS/TMS fluid circuits, and hydraulic distribution as applicable, including routing, packaging, and installation concepts.
• Fluid and Thermal Sizing: Perform pressure-drop, flow-balance, pump and reservoir sizing, and thermal-transport capacity calculations to establish system performance and hardware requirements.
• Modeling and Analysis: Build and maintain fluid and thermal system models using Flowmaster, AMESim, GFSSP, or equivalent tools to support design decisions, trade assessments, and requirements verification.
• Mechanical Design Support: Design supporting mechanical hardware, brackets, mounts, line supports, and installation provisions; perform tolerance analysis, clearance assessments, hand calculations, and basic FEA as needed.
• Component and Hardware Selection: Select and specify pumps, valves, heat exchangers, accumulators, filters, lines, fittings, actuators, and associated hardware for fluid and actuated system installations.
• Vehicle Integration: Resolve interfaces with structures, EWIS, thermal management, electrical power, and adjacent mechanical systems, including routing, maintainability, and installation-clearance requirements.
• System Robustness: Support failure mode analysis, contamination control, leak prevention, and system-level redundancy definition for assigned fluid and actuated systems.
• Hardware and Supplier Execution: Support component sourcing, technical specifications, supplier technical execution, prototype assembly, and test-fixture development.
• Qualification and Hardware Delivery: Define and execute qualification test plans per MIL-STD-810, using results to mature the design into production-ready hardware and support MIL-HDBK-516 Airworthiness Certification.

Required qualifications

• Clearance required: US Citizens Only & Must have an Active Secret or higher clearance.
• Experience: 7 to 12 years of fluid systems design, thermal systems analysis, or mechanical systems installation experience in aerospace or a comparable regulated industry.
• Education: B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Core Fundamentals: Deep mastery of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, mechanical design fundamentals, and tolerance stack-up methodologies.
• Modeling and Analysis: Demonstrated capability with fluid system sizing and analysis, including pressure drop, flow networks, heat transfer, and 1D fluid or thermal system modeling.
• System Layout and Integration: Demonstrated ability to create fluid-system layouts and mechanical installations that satisfy routing, packaging, maintainability, structural-interface, and vehicle-integration requirements.
• CAD and PLM: Experience in 3D CAD modeling, routing, layouts, and drawing release with Siemens NX, CATIA, Creo, SolidWorks, or equivalent PLM workflows.
• Mechanical Design: Hands-on capability designing brackets, mounts, supports, and installation hardware using hand calculations, tolerance analysis, and basic structural analysis.
• Hardware and Supplier Execution: Proven track record sourcing COTS/custom aerospace components, driving suppliers to schedule, and assembling benchtop or vehicle-level test setups.
• Autonomy: Demonstrated ability to self-direct, prioritize technical tasks without oversight, and deliver functional hardware under tight timelines.

Preferred qualifications

• Aircraft ram-air, liquid cooling, hydraulic, fuel, or thermal transport loop design experience.
• ECS or thermal management system design and integration experience.
• Experience with electro-mechanical or electro-hydrostatic actuation systems and associated mechanical installations.
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-810, MIL-HDBK-516, and airworthiness verification planning for fluid and mechanical systems.
• Hands-on prototype-build, fabrication, or mechanical assembly experience in a rapid R&D environment.

Additional Information

• Salary: USD 142,880-214,320 per-year-salary
• Benefits: Full-time regular employee offer package: Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity