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Shield AI

Posted 9 days ago

Staff Engineer, Actuated Systems - Ranger (R6347)

SeattleOn-site

AI Summary

A Staff Engineer on the Actuated Systems team owns the mechanical design, layout, and integration of actuation systems for flight control surfaces, bay doors, and airframe mechanisms on a Group 5 UAV fighter aircraft.

About this role

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. 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.

Job Description:

As a Staff (L4) Actuated Systems Engineer, you will take hands-on technical ownership of the mechanical design, layout, and integration of actuation systems for flight control surfaces, bay doors, and other airframe mechanisms on a Group 5 UAV fighter aircraft. You will apply first-principles engineering to develop buildable actuator installations, mature mechanism layouts, and drive detailed hardware design through release, test, and vehicle integration. This position requires a balance of technical rigor, rapid decision-making, and hands-on engineering to efficiently transition concepts into operational capability. The ideal candidate is comfortable solving complex problems, taking ownership, working within an accelerated aircraft development environment, and is motivated by getting meaningful capability into the hands of operators quickly.

What you'll do:

  • Actuated System Layouts: Develop and mature system layouts and installation concepts for actuators, mechanisms, linkages, brackets, mounting provisions, and associated hardware within vehicle packaging constraints.
  • Mechanical Design Ownership: Own detailed CAD design of actuated systems hardware from concept through drawing release, including load paths, materials, interfaces, GD&T, and tolerance stack-ups.
  • Actuator and Mechanism Integration: Perform actuator sizing, kinematic layout, and installation analysis for flight control surfaces, bay doors, and other airframe mechanisms.
  • Installation Analysis: Perform hand calculations and basic FEA to substantiate brackets, mounts, linkages, and mechanical installation hardware.
  • Vehicle Interfaces: Define and resolve installation interfaces with structures, EWIS, EPS, thermal management, and adjacent systems, including routing, clearances, and maintainability provisions.
  • Design Documentation: Develop and maintain CAD models, drawings, interface definitions, and design data packages to program standards for SRR, PDR, and CDR.
  • Hardware and Supplier Execution: Support component selection, technical specifications, supplier technical execution, prototype assembly, and mechanical 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:

  • Experience: 5 to 12 years of mechanical systems design experience in aerospace or a comparable regulated industry, with hands-on experience designing actuated mechanisms or aircraft installations.
  • Education: B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
  • Core Fundamentals: Deep mastery of mechanical design, kinematics, load paths, materials selection, GD&T, and tolerance stack-up methodologies.
  • Analysis and Modeling: Demonstrated capability performing closed-form hand calculations and basic FEA for mechanisms, brackets, mounts, and structural installation components.
  • CAD and PLM: Extensive experience in 3D CAD modeling, mechanical layouts, and drawing release, with Siemens NX, CATIA, Creo, or equivalent PLM workflows.
  • Actuated Systems Integration: Demonstrated ability to develop actuator and mechanism installations that satisfy packaging, load, clearance, maintainability, and vehicle-interface requirements.
  • 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.
  • Clearance eligible

    • Preferred qualifications:

  • Aircraft flight control actuation, weapons bay door, landing gear, or other deployable-mechanism design experience.
  • Experience with electro-mechanical or electro-hydrostatic actuation systems.
  • Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-516, MIL-STD-810, and airworthiness verification planning for mechanical systems.
  • Hands-on machine shop, fabrication, mechanical assembly, or prototype-build experience in a rapid R&D environment.

    • Skills

    Actuated SystemsAirworthiness CertificationCADCATIACOTS SourcingCreoFEAGD&TKinematicsMechanical DesignMIL-HDBK-516MIL-STD-810PLMSiemens NXTolerance Stack-up

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