Staff Engineer, Mechanical & Actuated Systems

About the role

Shield AI is hiring a Staff Engineer for mechanical and actuated systems on autonomous aircraft work in Dallas, Texas. Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company focused on protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Products named include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies, with facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. Team context from the posting metadata: X-BAT Engineering

Mechanical.

Engagement: Full-time Employee. In this seat you contribute to mechanical design and development of Shield AI's autonomous UAV products: help architect new products, perform detailed design of complex electro-mechanical assemblies, and use modern design and analysis tools. You collaborate with internal and/or external partners to prototype, test, and release products to production, and help product features hit performance, schedule, and reliability goals. Core work includes designing complex electro-mechanical or hydro-mechanical mechanisms; owning concept through CAD, analysis, tolerance stack-ups, material selection, and drawing release; structural and kinematic calculations plus preliminary FEA; prototyping and iterating for function and reliability; partnering with electrical, avionics, hydraulics, flight controls, and propulsion; and supporting pre-production builds, prototype integration, and ground/flight testing. Required bar named: B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering; 7+ years mechanical or mechanism design; strong CAD (NX preferred); kinematic analysis; structural analysis with hand calcs and FEA; FEA modes including modal, non-linear and linear, buckling, fatigue; GD&T and tolerance stack-ups; materials selection including alloys, heat treatments, allowables, and finishes; independent work in fast cross-functional teams; and a record of hard work, trustworthiness, high standards, and kindness. Preferred: UAV/aircraft/robotics experience; electro-mechanical actuators familiarity; FMEA, DOE, and root cause analysis; hands-on shop or mechanic experience; RTCA DO-160, MIL-STD-810, structural, or actuated mechanism testing; startup/R&D/defense innovation comfort. Compensation metadata on the pack lists USD 138,240-207,360 per year; offers may include bonus, benefits, and equity for full-time regular employees, with background check contingencies as stated. Confirm final package on the live Lever posting.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Contribute mechanical design on Shield AI autonomous UAV products.
• Help architect new mechanical product approaches for actuated systems.
• Design complex electro-mechanical or hydro-mechanical mechanisms for autonomous aircraft.
• Own concept, CAD, analysis, tolerance stack-ups, materials, and drawing release end to end.
• Run structural and kinematic calculations and preliminary FEA.
• Prototype, test, and iterate mechanisms for function and reliability.
• Partner with electrical, avionics, hydraulics, flight controls, and propulsion teammates.
• Support pre-production builds, prototype integration, and ground or flight test events.
• Help features meet performance, schedule, and reliability targets.
• Work with internal and external partners through prototype-to-production release.

Requirements

• B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering.
• 7+ years in mechanical or mechanism design.
• Strong CAD skills with NX preferred.
• Kinematic analysis and optimization capability.
• Structural analysis using hand calculations and finite element methods.
• FEA experience across modal, non-linear and linear, buckling, and fatigue analyses.
• GD&T and tolerance stack-ups for mechanical systems.
• Materials selection covering alloys, heat treatments, allowables, and finishes.
• Ability to work independently inside fast-paced cross-functional teams.
• Preferred signals: UAV/aircraft/robotics; actuators; FMEA/DOE/RCA; shop skills; DO-160 / MIL-STD-810 / mechanism testing; defense innovation environments.
• Offer and process notes from source

Full-time regular packages may include pay in range plus bonus, benefits, and equity. Temporary packages differ after 60 days as stated. Compensation varies by skill, experience, licenses, certifications, and location. Offers are contingent on cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits per the posting. Speak with talent acquisition for details. Shield AI states equal opportunity and affirmative action policies.

Application notes

Apply through the Shield AI Lever posting for this job. Prefer must-have signals when assessing fit (7+ years mechanism design, B.S. ME/AE, CAD/FEA/GD&T depth, Dallas). Follow the live posting if salary range or location changes. Employer product and geography claims are context from the source. Underspecified items such as clearance should be checked on the official page. Prefer must-have signals when assessing fit. Follow the live posting if X-BAT mechanical scope changes.