Shield AI

Lead complex technical programs ensuring cross-team alignment and improve delivery processes. | Over 5 years managing technical projects with strong agile and SDLC knowledge. | 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. Job Description: The Senior Project Manager – Technical Delivery & Cross-Functional Execution is an experienced practitioner responsible for driving the end-to-end delivery of complex, technically-led programs across distributed, cross-functional organizations. Operating at the intersection of IT, Product, Data, and Business Operations, this person brings the structure, process rigor, and delivery discipline needed to execute at pace without sacrificing quality or alignment. This role is defined by its breadth: the ability to work fluently across organizational boundaries — aligning engineering squads, product teams, platform and infrastructure groups, and business stakeholders toward shared delivery outcomes. Beyond project execution, this person actively designs and implements the processes, workflows, and tooling that enable teams to operate more effectively and deliver more predictably over time. The ideal candidate is technically literate, process-oriented, and deeply comfortable building structure in ambiguous environments. They bring the credibility to engage meaningfully with engineering and architecture teams, the communication skills to translate complexity for executive audiences, and the operational rigor to keep delivery on track across multiple concurrent workstreams. Success in this engagement is defined by on-time delivery of technical programs, clear and consistent cross-functional alignment, measurable improvements in delivery predictability, and the establishment of durable processes that outlast the engagement. \n What you'll do: Lead end-to-end delivery of complex technical programs and projects — spanning software development, platform engineering, cloud infrastructure, data and analytics, and system integrations — from initiation through to production release and stabilization Act as the connective tissue across cross-functional teams including Engineering, Product, Design, Data, DevOps, Security, and Business Operations — aligning priorities, resolving blockers, and maintaining delivery momentum Design, implement, and continuously improve project delivery processes and workflows tailored to the organization’s technical context — including intake and scoping, sprint ceremonies, release coordination, dependency tracking, and post-delivery retrospectives Develop and own project delivery artefacts: project charters, detailed plans and schedules, RACI matrices, risk registers, status dashboards, and decision logs; always keep them current and decision-relevant Establish and manage governance structures including steering committees, technical review checkpoints, change control processes, and escalation paths appropriate to the complexity and risk profile of each initiative Partner with Engineering and Product leadership to align technical roadmaps with business priorities; facilitate trade-off conversations around scope, capacity, technical debt, and delivery sequencing Proactively surface and manage risks, issues, and dependencies across workstreams; develop mitigation strategies and drive resolution with clarity, urgency, and accountability Own project financials — track budgets, actuals, and forecasts; report variances to leadership with context and corrective actions Facilitate requirements clarification, technical scoping, and estimation sessions in partnership with engineering leads, architects, and product managers; translate business needs into well-defined delivery scope Drive and coordinate cross-team release planning, sprint reviews, and PI planning ceremonies in agile and scaled agile environments; ensure dependencies between squads are visible and managed Define and embed delivery metrics and reporting frameworks — velocity, cycle time, delivery predictability, risk exposure — to give leadership clear, real-time visibility across the portfolio Lead change management and communication planning for technically complex initiatives; ensure impacted teams and stakeholders are informed, prepared, and aligned throughout delivery Develop and maintain process documentation, delivery playbooks, workflow standards, and tooling guidance; institutionalize best practices so delivery quality scales beyond individual programmes Prepare and present concise, well-structured executive status updates, programme reviews, and decision packages for senior technical and business leadership Required qualifications: 5+ years of project or program management experience, with a consistent focus on technical or technology-led initiatives including software development, platform engineering, data or cloud program Demonstrable experience working across cross-functional technical teams — IT, Product, Design, Data, DevOps, Infrastructure, and Security — acting as an integrator who drives alignment and delivery across organizational boundaries Proven ability to design and implement delivery processes and workflows from scratch or in under-defined environments; able to assess what’s needed, build pragmatically, and iterate based on what works Strong grasp of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and technical delivery patterns — including CI/CD pipelines, sprint-based delivery, release trains, and environment management — sufficient to manage delivery risk and engage credibly with engineering teams Hands-on experience with agile and hybrid delivery frameworks: Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, or equivalent; comfortable designing the right delivery model for the program rather than applying a single methodology dogmatically Strong command of core PM disciplines: scope management, scheduling, risk and issue management, dependency tracking, budget oversight, resource planning, and executive reporting Experience with modern project and engineering tooling: Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, Linear, Notion, or equivalent; able to configure and adapt tooling to support team workflows and leadership visibility Excellent facilitation and communication skills — able to run complex multi-team workshops, lead technical planning sessions, and present clearly to both engineering audiences and executive stakeholders PMP, PRINCE2, PMI-ACP, or equivalent certification (or demonstrated applied experience at equivalent level); agile certifications welcomed High degree of autonomy and self-direction — comfortable operating in ambiguous environments with minimal structural support; able to build structure where it doesn’t yet exist Preferred qualifications: Experience delivering across multiple technical domains simultaneously — e.g., concurrent platform, data, and product workstreams — with the ability to manage inter-team dependencies at program level Background in cloud migration or cloud-native program delivery (AWS, Azure, GCP); understanding of infrastructure-as-code, containerization, and DevSecOps practices and how they affect delivery planning Exposure to data and analytics program delivery including data platform buildouts, data pipeline implementations, BI and reporting tooling, and data governance workstreams Experience with API-led integration program and the delivery complexity of connecting internal systems, third-party platforms, and data sources across distributed architectures Familiarity with technical architecture review processes; able to participate in architecture decision discussions and understand delivery implications of architectural choices Background in regulated technical environments (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR) with experience managing compliance requirements as a delivery constraint Experience deploying AI, machine learning, or data science capabilities in a production context; understanding of the unique delivery challenges in probabilistic and iterative ML development Prior background as a software engineer, technical business analyst, or solutions architect — bringing ground-level technical credibility that enhances delivery quality and stakeholder trust \n $100,000 - $150,000 a year \n #LC Full-time regular employee offer package: Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity Temporary employee offer package: Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment) Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information. ### Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

Lead end-to-end delivery of complex technical programs across cross-functional teams ensuring alignment and process rigor. | 5+ years managing technical projects with strong process design skills, agile frameworks, and ability to engage engineering and executive stakeholders. | Job Description: The Senior Project Manager – Technical Delivery & Cross-Functional Execution is an experienced practitioner responsible for driving the end-to-end delivery of complex, technically-led programs across distributed, cross-functional organizations. Operating at the intersection of IT, Product, Data, and Business Operations, this person brings the structure, process rigor, and delivery discipline needed to execute at pace without sacrificing quality or alignment. This role is defined by its breadth: the ability to work fluently across organizational boundaries — aligning engineering squads, product teams, platform and infrastructure groups, and business stakeholders toward shared delivery outcomes. Beyond project execution, this person actively designs and implements the processes, workflows, and tooling that enable teams to operate more effectively and deliver more predictably over time. The ideal candidate is technically literate, process-oriented, and deeply comfortable building structure in ambiguous environments. They bring the credibility to engage meaningfully with engineering and architecture teams, the communication skills to translate complexity for executive audiences, and the operational rigor to keep delivery on track across multiple concurrent workstreams. Success in this engagement is defined by on-time delivery of technical programs, clear and consistent cross-functional alignment, measurable improvements in delivery predictability, and the establishment of durable processes that outlast the engagement. What you'll do: • Lead end-to-end delivery of complex technical programs and projects — spanning software development, platform engineering, cloud infrastructure, data and analytics, and system integrations — from initiation through to production release and stabilization • Act as the connective tissue across cross-functional teams including Engineering, Product, Design, Data, DevOps, Security, and Business Operations — aligning priorities, resolving blockers, and maintaining delivery momentum • Design, implement, and continuously improve project delivery processes and workflows tailored to the organization’s technical context — including intake and scoping, sprint ceremonies, release coordination, dependency tracking, and post-delivery retrospectives • Develop and own project delivery artefacts: project charters, detailed plans and schedules, RACI matrices, risk registers, status dashboards, and decision logs; always keep them current and decision-relevant • Establish and manage governance structures including steering committees, technical review checkpoints, change control processes, and escalation paths appropriate to the complexity and risk profile of each initiative • Partner with Engineering and Product leadership to align technical roadmaps with business priorities; facilitate trade-off conversations around scope, capacity, technical debt, and delivery sequencing • Proactively surface and manage risks, issues, and dependencies across workstreams; develop mitigation strategies and drive resolution with clarity, urgency, and accountability • Own project financials — track budgets, actuals, and forecasts; report variances to leadership with context and corrective actions • Facilitate requirements clarification, technical scoping, and estimation sessions in partnership with engineering leads, architects, and product managers; translate business needs into well-defined delivery scope • Drive and coordinate cross-team release planning, sprint reviews, and PI planning ceremonies in agile and scaled agile environments; ensure dependencies between squads are visible and managed • Define and embed delivery metrics and reporting frameworks — velocity, cycle time, delivery predictability, risk exposure — to give leadership clear, real-time visibility across the portfolio • Lead change management and communication planning for technically complex initiatives; ensure impacted teams and stakeholders are informed, prepared, and aligned throughout delivery • Develop and maintain process documentation, delivery playbooks, workflow standards, and tooling guidance; institutionalize best practices so delivery quality scales beyond individual programmes • Prepare and present concise, well-structured executive status updates, programme reviews, and decision packages for senior technical and business leadership Required qualifications: • 5+ years of project or program management experience, with a consistent focus on technical or technology-led initiatives including software development, platform engineering, data or cloud program • Demonstrable experience working across cross-functional technical teams — IT, Product, Design, Data, DevOps, Infrastructure, and Security — acting as an integrator who drives alignment and delivery across organizational boundaries • Proven ability to design and implement delivery processes and workflows from scratch or in under-defined environments; able to assess what’s needed, build pragmatically, and iterate based on what works • Strong grasp of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and technical delivery patterns — including CI/CD pipelines, sprint-based delivery, release trains, and environment management — sufficient to manage delivery risk and engage credibly with engineering teams • Hands-on experience with agile and hybrid delivery frameworks: Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, or equivalent; comfortable designing the right delivery model for the program rather than applying a single methodology dogmatically • Strong command of core PM disciplines: scope management, scheduling, risk and issue management, dependency tracking, budget oversight, resource planning, and executive reporting • Experience with modern project and engineering tooling: Jira, Confluence, Smartsheet, Linear, Notion, or equivalent; able to configure and adapt tooling to support team workflows and leadership visibility • Excellent facilitation and communication skills — able to run complex multi-team workshops, lead technical planning sessions, and present clearly to both engineering audiences and executive stakeholders • PMP, PRINCE2, PMI-ACP, or equivalent certification (or demonstrated applied experience at equivalent level); agile certifications welcomed • High degree of autonomy and self-direction — comfortable operating in ambiguous environments with minimal structural support; able to build structure where it doesn’t yet exist Preferred qualifications: • Experience delivering across multiple technical domains simultaneously — e.g., concurrent platform, data, and product workstreams — with the ability to manage inter-team dependencies at program level • Background in cloud migration or cloud-native program delivery (AWS, Azure, GCP); understanding of infrastructure-as-code, containerization, and DevSecOps practices and how they affect delivery planning • Exposure to data and analytics program delivery including data platform buildouts, data pipeline implementations, BI and reporting tooling, and data governance workstreams • Experience with API-led integration program and the delivery complexity of connecting internal systems, third-party platforms, and data sources across distributed architectures • Familiarity with technical architecture review processes; able to participate in architecture decision discussions and understand delivery implications of architectural choices • Background in regulated technical environments (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR) with experience managing compliance requirements as a delivery constraint • Experience deploying AI, machine learning, or data science capabilities in a production context; understanding of the unique delivery challenges in probabilistic and iterative ML development • Prior background as a software engineer, technical business analyst, or solutions architect — bringing ground-level technical credibility that enhances delivery quality and stakeholder trust

Lead technical capture and presales support for Shield AI's aircraft and product suite, managing proposals, customer engagements, and cross-functional coordination. | 5+ years in technical presales or solutions engineering in defense/aerospace, experience with government requirements, strong technical knowledge of aircraft and defense systems, and excellent communication skills. | Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With nine offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the 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. Role Description The Presales Solutions Engineer will provide technical expertise and support to customers prior to the sale of Shield AI Aircraft and other products. This role involves collaborating closely with customers to understand their requirements and demonstrating how our solutions can meet their needs. You will play a key role in ensuring successful product development throughout the presales process. The Solutions Engineer serves as a technical force multiplier for the Business Development (BD) team, providing expertise on Shield AI’s products and services to drive customer engagement, solution alignment, and successful deal capture. This role bridges the gap between our technology roadmap and our customers' operational needs. What you'll do: • Lead technical capture efforts for European opportunities, ensuring solutions are technically sound, feasible, and aligned with Shield AI’s product roadmap. Capture efforts will focus on Aircraft, but will require familiarity with the entire Shield AI Product suite. • Manage multiple priorities in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, including customer engagements, pre-sales technical support, proposal contributions, and solution development. • Develop and execute technical strategies that result in high-quality, compliant, and compelling proposals to maximize win probability. • Serve as the primary technical lead for BD engagements in Europe, interfacing cross-functionally with BD, BD Operations , Engineering, Operations, Program Management, and Product Management to ensure customer needs are met. • Manage technical content for proposals, requests for information (RFIs), white papers, and capability briefs, ensuring accuracy, clarity, and compliance. • Support BD and Account Executives by becoming a Subject Matter Expert in Shield AI products, providing technical expertise in customer engagements, capability briefings, and solution discussions to drive successful sales outcomes. • Act as a liaison between BD and Engineering, ensuring that new customer requests are technically feasible and align with product capabilities, timelines, and roadmaps. • Contribute to the technical documentation repository, maintaining capability briefs, specifications, FAQs, and other sales collateral for internal and external use. • Provide training and mentorship to BD teams on technical aspects of Shield AI’s solutions, enabling them to articulate our value proposition confidently. • Support competitive analysis and market intelligence, ensuring the BD team remains informed on industry trends and competitor capabilities. • Contribute to process improvement efforts, leveraging lessons learned from customer engagements to refine BD workflows and technical capture strategies. • Analyze the unique operational and environmental factors of the assigned region, producing high-impact white papers and briefs that inform the product roadmap and drive solutions aligned to customer mission needs. Required qualifications: • 5+ years of experience in technical presales, business development, or solutions engineering, preferably in defense, aerospace, AI-driven technology, or U.S. Federal/International government environments. • Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field. • Experience working with U.S. Federal or International government requirements. • Strong technical acumen in Aircraft, UAS, multispectral sensor systems, AI, autonomy, and defense technology (experience with V-BAT, Hivemind, and Vision Systems preferred). • Outstanding analytical and quantitative problem-solving skills, with a demonstrated aptitude for technical assessments and solution development. • Strong technical writing ability to author requests for information, abstracts, and quad charts. • Proven leadership experience in a work setting and/or through extracurricular activities. • Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear, compelling messaging for both technical and non-technical stakeholders. • Ability to work collaboratively in a cross-functional team environment and effectively engage with stakeholders at all levels of an organization. • Track record of high performance, including a demonstrated work ethic, reliability as a teammate, kindness, and commitment to high standards. • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, nontraditional defense contractor environment. Preferred qualifications: • Experience managing Foreign Military Sale and Direct Commercial Sale proposals. • Strong technical background especially with Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs). • Demonstrated thorough understanding and knowledge of the military operations and the acquisition process. • 3+ years of experience in an presales/solutions engineering role • 3+ years of experience working in a startup environment. • Demonstrated understanding of specific DoD operational scenarios and systems. • Active DoD security clearance.

Manage and prioritize special projects backlog and roadmap, coordinate capability transitions into SDK releases, lead demos, validate innovation opportunities, and align stakeholders. | 5+ years product management experience with strong technical background in robotics or autonomy, SDK experience, excellent communication, prototyping skills, and customer engagement. | Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Boston, Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kyiv (Ukraine), and Melbourne (Australia), Shield AI's technology actively supports U.S. and allied operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X and Instagram. Job Description: The Special Projects Product Manager will play a critical role in driving innovation within Shield AI's advanced technologies group. This position bridges early-stage exploration with core product development, ensuring that novel capabilities from Special Projects are strategically transitioned into the Hivemind SDK and effectively leveraged by customer-facing teams. The PM will serve as both a technical expert and strategic partner-shaping the roadmap, championing usability, and collaborating across engineering, enterprise product, and solutions. This is a high-impact role for a product leader passionate about autonomy, innovation, and transforming prototypes into enduring product value. What you'll do: • Manage and prioritize Special Projects backlog • Maintain and evolve Special Projects roadmap • Track Product Engineering roadmaps for integration opportunities • Coordinate capability transition into Hivemind SDK releases • Align with Hivemind Solutions on tactical and strategic needs • Track and escalate SDK usability issues to core PMs • Serve as expert user and demo leader for SDK • Serve as expert user and demo leader for Special Projects • Identify and validate new innovation opportunities • Drive rapid prototyping and proof-of-concept evaluations • Partner with engineering leads on technical feasibility assessments • Facilitate stakeholder communication and decision alignment • Collect customer/field feedback to refine innovation pipeline • Monitor industry trends and competitor innovation initiatives • Track success metrics for pilot projects and transitions Required qualifications: • 5+ years product management or innovation experience • Proven backlog and roadmap management expertise • Strong technical background in robotics or autonomy • Demonstrated experience with SDKs or developer platforms • Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills • Ability to synthesize feedback into actionable product direction • Skilled in rapid prototyping and early-stage validation • Hands-on experience with product demos and customer engagement Preferred qualifications: • Experience in defense, aerospace, or autonomous systems • Familiarity with Hivemind SDK or comparable autonomy frameworks • Strong user empathy and usability problem-solving skills • Track record of innovation-to-productization success • MBA or advanced degree in engineering/CS/related field • Prior experience supporting both product and customer delivery teams • Skilled at competitive analysis and market trend monitoring • Comfortable with ambiguity and fast-changing priorities $190,000 - $290,000 a year #LI-DM2 #LE Full-time regular employee offer package: Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity Temporary employee offer package: Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment) Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information. ### Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. Apply for this job

Lead and mentor a team developing navigation and state estimation solutions for autonomous aerial systems, architecting software and collaborating cross-functionally for validation and integration. | 10+ years experience with strong C++ software engineering, expertise in state estimation and sensor fusion, leadership experience, and delivering autonomy software for robotics or aerospace platforms. | Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Boston, Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kyiv (Ukraine), and Melbourne (Australia), Shield AI’s technology actively supports U.S. and allied operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X and Instagram. Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy team is building an SDK that enables resilient, assured navigation solutions for autonomous systems operating in contested environments. We are looking for a hands-on technical leader to manage and grow our Navigation and State Estimation team. You'll lead a team of 6+ engineers developing state-of-the-art algorithms for GPS-denied navigation, fusing your expertise in state estimation, PNT technologies, and C++ software development to deliver high-impact autonomy capabilities. What You'll Do: • Lead and mentor a high-performing team delivering robust navigation and state estimation solutions for autonomous aerial systems. • Drive the technical roadmap, balancing near-term deliveries with long-term innovation. • Architect and review solutions in state estimation, sensor fusion, inertial and vision-aided navigation. • Maintain high standards of C++ software quality, system validation, and integration performance. • Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure successful simulation, HITL, and flight test validation. • Support hiring, team growth, career development, and external technical representation. Required Qualifications: • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent work experience), typically with a minimum of 10 years of related experience; 9 years with a master’s degree; or 7 years with a PhD. • Expertise in modern C++ (C++11 or newer) with a strong software engineering foundation. • Experience deploying state estimation solution on physical systems in real-world environments • Deep knowledge of Kalman filtering, graph optimization, sensor fusion, and inertial navigation systems. • Demonstrated success leading engineering projects or small technical teams. • Experience delivering autonomy software for robotics, aerospace, or defense platforms. Preferred Qualifications: • Experience with VIO, SLAM, factor graph optimization (gtsam, Ceres) for GPS-denied navigation. • Background in sensor integration (IMU, GPS, magnetometers, barometers, visual sensors). • Familiarity with DoD program requirements, operational testing, and autonomy system assurance. • Prior experience managing cross-disciplinary teams in agile environments. Additional Information: • Candidates may complete a technical evaluation, including a design and coding review, as part of the interview process. #LI-ED1 #LD Full-time regular employee offer package: Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity Temporary employee offer package: Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment) Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information. ### Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.

null | Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Boston, Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kyiv (Ukraine), and Melbourne (Australia), Shield AI’s technology actively supports U.S. and allied operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn,X, YouTubeand Instagram. Job Description: Shield AI is seeking a Principal Mechanical Design Engineer with deep expertise in mechanism design to support the development of our next-generation autonomous UAV platform. In this high-ownership role, you will lead the architecture, design, and development of precision mechanical systems and actuation mechanisms that are critical to mission success. You will work closely with cross-functional teams to create rugged, lightweight, and manufacturable mechanisms-ranging from landing gear to deployable payload systems-while delivering high performance in dynamic and harsh environments. This is an opportunity to design at the edge of innovation and autonomy, with real-world impact. \n What you'll do: Design complex electro-mechanical mechanisms for autonomous aircraft Own the full design process: concept, CAD, tolerance analysis, material selection, and drawing release Perform structural and kinematic calculations and preliminary FEA Prototype, test, and iterate mechanism designs for functionality and reliability Collaborate with electrical, avionics, flight controls, and propulsion teams Mentor junior engineers and promote engineering excellence Support pre-production builds, prototype integration, and ground/flight testing Required qualifications: B.S. in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering 10+ years in mechanical or mechanism design Strong CAD skills (NX preferred) Kinematic analysis and optimization Structural analysis utilizing hand calculations and finite element methods FEA analysis: Modal, non-linear and linear, buckling, fatigue GD&T and tolerance stack-ups for mechanical systems Materials selection inclusive of alloys, heat treatments, allowables, and finishes Ability to work independently and lead in fast-paced, cross-functional teams A demonstrated record of working hard, being trustworthy, holding yourself to high standards, and being kind to others Preferred qualifications: Experience with UAVs, aircraft, or robotic systems Familiarity with electro-mechanical actuators Proficiency in FMEA, DOE, and root cause analysis Hands-on machine shop or mechanic experience (professional or hobby) RTCA DO-160, structural, or actuated mechanism testing experience Ability to thrive in startup, R&D, or defense innovation environments \n $193,578 - $290,368 biweekly \n #LI-JW2 #LF Full-time regular employee offer package: Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity Temporary employee offer package: Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment) Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information. ### Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.