Senior Staff Engineer, Shield AI
Electromechanical
$166.6-249.9k
+ Bonus + Equity
Building AI aircraft pilots
Be an early applicant
Building AI aircraft pilots
1001+ employees
Be an early applicant
$166.6-249.9k
+ Bonus + Equity
1001+ employees
Company mission
To protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems.
Role
Who you are
- If you thrive in fast-paced environments, excel in cross-functional collaboration, and are passionate about building high-performance avionics systems, we want to hear from you
- B.S. and/or MS in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering
- 10+ years of experience in mechanical & electrical equipment design for aerospace, including harness integration and mechanical component design
- Expertise in CAD software (NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, or similar) for 3D modeling, drawing creation, and system layout
- Familiarity with eCAD software (Altium, Cadence, Allegro), and harness design software (Capital, Zuken)
- Experience working with electrical engineers to define PCB constraints, develop circuit cards, and care for all the
- Mechanical interfaces
- Familiarity with the PCB layout process and advanced manufacturing methods
- Experience with finite element analysis (FEA), thermal analysis, and fatigue/lifecycle testing
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, agile development environment with evolving priorities
What the job involves
- Shield AI is redefining autonomous aviation with cutting-edge AI and GPS/RF-denied navigation technologies. Now, we’re building a next-generation aircraft like no other—one that will push the boundaries of innovation and performance
- We are looking for a Senior Staff Electromechanical Engineer to join our team, focused on the design and integration of avionics systems and driving designs from concept to production
- Design complex electro-mechanical solutions for avionics packaging, electrical interconnects, thermal management, and aircraft integration
- Perform structural, preliminary thermal, and modal analyses for avionics to ensure survivability in harsh environments
- Ensure avionics meet performance, safety, environmental, and EMI/EMC compliance standards, including DO-160, DO-254, DO-178C, MIL-STD-810, and MIL-STD-461
- Own your design work from concept to reviews through system validation, failure analysis, and flight test readiness
Our take
Self-driving vehicles present enormous benefits for the transportation industry, with the potential to increase the safety and efficiency of cars, trucks, and commercial airlines. However, such technological innovation is less present within the military transportation sector, despite the benefits that AI piloting would produce for the operation of drones and aircraft.
Shield AI is developing Hivemind, an AI-driven pilot that can operate drones and aircraft autonomously, without needing GPS, communications, or pilots. In addition to navigation, the technology is also designed to facilitate indoor building clearance, integrated defense breaching, and has the ability to learn and autonomously execute aircraft missions.
Whilst similar AI-driven pilot software has begun to appear in Chinese military research programs, Shield AI's target is the US. By developing fully autonomous piloting integrations for any type of aircraft, the company aims to future-proof the US military without the need for bespoke aircraft design. It has generated massive amounts of funding to support continued scaling and R&D efforts.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 14 rounds)
Mar 2026
$1.5bn
SERIES G
Mar 2026
$500m
LATE VC
Total funding: $3.0bn
Company benefits
- Excellent Medical Coverage
- Mental Health Employee Assistance Program
- Paid Parental Leave
- Pet Insurance
- Flexible Work Hours
- Gym Discount (San Diego)
- Onsite Gym (DC)
- Free Parking
- Competitive Compensation
- 401K Services and Match
- Stock Benefits
Company HQ
Core-Columbia, San Diego, CA
Leadership
Ryan Tseng
(Co-Founder & President)Experience as CEO, CTO and Founder of WiPower from 2006 to 2010. Technical Lead for Wireless Power Program for Qualcomm from 2010 to 2013.
Brandon Tseng
(Co-Founder & President)Naval Officer for the US Navy from 2009 to 2015.
Salary benchmarks
We don't have enough data yet to provide salary benchmarks for this role.
Submit your salary to help other candidates with crowdsourced salary estimates.
Share this job
View 44 more jobs at Shield AI