Description
Are you a passionate and innovative thermal engineer looking to help develop the next generation VTOL strike aircraft? Shield AI is seeking a Principal Aircraft Thermal Engineer to lead the charge in solving the most challenging thermal problems on the XBAT aircraft program.
As the Principal Aircraft Thermal Engineer, you will lead thermal analysis and characterization efforts for unmanned aerial vehicle aircraft-level thermal systems. You will architect and validate analytical, numerical, and computational models for heat transfer and fluid flow using hand calculations, finite difference methods, and CFD tools such as FloEFD.
You will provide leadership in trade studies, system architecture decisions, requirements generation, and technical risk assessments. You will define and oversee test planning, instrumentation, and data analysis to correlate models with experimental results.
You will mentor and guide cross-disciplinary teams in applying thermal/fluid fundamentals. You will communicate technical findings through executive-level briefings, design reviews, and technical reports.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leading thermal analysis and characterization efforts for unmanned aerial vehicle aircraft-level thermal systems
- Architecting and validating analytical, numerical, and computational models for heat transfer and fluid flow
- Providing leadership in trade studies, system architecture decisions, requirements generation, and technical risk assessments
- Defining and overseeing test planning, instrumentation, and data analysis
- Mentoring and guiding cross-disciplinary teams
- Communicating technical findings through executive-level briefings, design reviews, and technical reports
Requirements include:
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline
- Minimum 12 years of professional experience in avionics or electronics thermal engineering
- Deep expertise in heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) and fluid mechanics
- Advanced understanding of active and passive cooling solutions and their integration at the component and system level
- Proficiency with thermal analysis and CFD tools (e.g., FloEFD, STAR-CCM+)
- Proficiency with CAD design tools such as NX, SolidWorks, or similar
- Demonstrated ability to apply first-principles reasoning to complex engineering problems
- Ability to learn new and cutting-edge materials knowledge and thermal management techniques from a variety of sources (technical papers, text books, etc.) and apply it to the development of advanced thermal management design
- Strong communication and leadership skills, with experience presenting to executives and customers
Preferred qualifications include:
- M.S. or Ph.D. in a relevant engineering discipline
- Extensive experience with high-altitude aircraft thermal management, analysis, and design
- Familiarity with aircraft integration constraints (power, weight, volume, maintainability, safety)
- Hands-on experience with thermal and fluid system testing, instrumentation, and validation
- Knowledge of materials and manufacturing methods relevant to aerospace thermal management
- Experience guiding trade studies, proposals, and customer interactions in aerospace or defense programs
- Background in multi-disciplinary system integration, spanning avionics, fluid systems, and systems engineering