Senior Engineer, Materials (R5258)

Founded in 2015, 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 and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft. 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 www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

As a Materials and Failure Analysis (MFA) Engineer at Shield AI, you will be responsible for driving failure analysis investigations and materials characterization activities for the XBAT vehicle. As part of the hardware reliability team, you’ll work closely with design, manufacturing, and supply chain to lead materials development, understand failure mechanisms, define corrective actions, and eliminate recurrence across product design, manufacturing processes, and supply chain sourcing. You will engage in hands-on lab work across instruments including SEM, EDS, X-ray, cross-section preparation, and optical microscopy, and outsource when capabilities are not available internally. You will be responsible for establishing SOPs and materials lab practices that enhance sample preparation and physicochemical materials characterization outputs to achieve top-quality investigation results. You will analyze metals, ceramics, polymers, and composite materials. The work you do will directly drive materials selection, materials processing, and design update decision-making for hardware designs across the vehicle.

Operate and continuously improve world-class materials and failure investigation laboratory spanning equipment including, but not limited to, SEM/EDS, x-ray, CT, optical microscopy, and cross-section preparation.

Develop and implement lab procedures spanning materials characterization, failure analysis investigations, and reporting of results to various stakeholders.

Perform failure analysis on electronic failures and recommend corrective actions to address identified failure mechanisms across metallic, ceramic, polymeric, and composite materials.

Drive failure analysis investigations using common methods including 8D, fault-tree, fishbone, and FRACAS.

Conduct mechanical cross-sectioning to prepare samples for subsequent analysis.

Perform dye-and-pry and CSAM to reveal cracks and voids.

Utilize X-ray inspection methods (2D and computed tomography) for electronics failure analysis.

Operate Scanning Electron Microscopes and conduct Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy.

Execute thermal analysis work on materials, including DSC, TGA, DMA, TMA, and FTIR.

Manage procurement and maintenance of lab consumables.

Oversee the maintenance, organization, and safety of all laboratory equipment and work areas.

Work with external laboratories to perform materials and failure analysis work as necessary.

Educate stakeholders on materials science fundamentals to improve material selection and materials processing practices across the design, supply chain, and manufacturing teams.

Stay current with industry trends, advancements, and best practices in all aspects of electronic materials and related failure mechanisms.

2+ years of experience in a materials engineering role, preferably with a focus on aerospace or automotive applications.

Candidate must be self-starting and come with a growth mindset, with excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.

Bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, or Chemical Engineering. Degrees in Mechanical OR Reliability Engineering also are accepted.

Familiarity with electronics (PCBs, PCBAs, electronic components) and moving mechanical assemblies. Knowledgeable in failure mechanisms including solder fatigue, intermetallic growth, conductive anodic filaments, tin whiskers, electromigration, and corrosion.

Team-player with clear and concise written and oral communication skills.

Experience working with interdisciplinary teams to execute product design from concept to production.

Experience with management of technical projects.

2+ years of hands-on experience operating expensive lab instruments, including SEMs, microscopes, and x-ray systems.

Familiarity with relevant industry standards, including IPC, JEDEC, MIL, and ASTM standards.

5+ years of experience in a materials engineering role, preferably with a focus on aerospace or automotive applications.

Master's degree in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, or Chemical Engineering.

Proficiency in failure analysis techniques and materials characterization methods. Direct application to electronics is preferred.

Prior experience running a materials characterization and/or failure analysis lab.

Experience with environmental testing, including temperature cycling, vibration, highly accelerated limit testing (HALT), and highly-accelerated stress screening (HASS).

Familiarity with PCB fabrication, SMT, and polymerics application manufacturing processes.

Significant knowledge of materials engineering principles, methods, and tools.

Proficiency in Python, including NumPy, Pandas, SciPy, Plotly, and Matplotlib.