Senior Staff Engineer - Supply Chain, Mechanical Commodities

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. 

About the role

Shield AI is looking for a highly skilled, motivated Supplier Development Engineer to lead the technical development, industrialization, and performance improvement of suppliers for critical mechanical commodities. These include precision-machined components, airframe structures, landing gear, composites and propulsion/engine hardware.

You'll be the main technical interface between suppliers and Shield AI's Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Program teams. You'll solve supplier problems that affect quality, on-time delivery, and scaling. You'll onboard suppliers to new designs and lead them through qualification and production ramp-up. This work is central to our mission of delivering affordable, autonomous mass at scale.

The role involves a lot of travel, up to 50%, including regular trips internationally to develop and build the supply base there.

What You'll Do:

• Supplier development and capability assessment

• Lead technical development and performance improvement for precision machining, airframe structures, landing gear, composites and propulsion/engine hardware.

• Assess supplier technical capabilities, manufacturing processes, capacity, quality systems, tooling, workforce, and readiness for prototype, development, qualification, and production programs.

• Run capability assessments, manufacturing readiness reviews, process audits, capacity analyses, and onsite evaluations.

• Work with Strategic Sourcing and Engineering to select suppliers that meet technical, quality, cost, schedule, and production-rate requirements.

• Identify, develop, and qualify new suppliers in Europe to grow the regional supply base.
  Industrialization and new product introduction

• Lead industrialization: manufacturing planning, tooling readiness, process validation, capacity planning, qualification, and production ramp-up.

• Support new product introductions, prototype builds, engineering changes, and rate increases, making sure suppliers meet all quality and delivery requirements during development.

• Review drawings, specifications, GD&T, bills of material, special-process requirements, and statements of work with suppliers.

• Lead design-for-manufacturability and design-for-assembly discussions to improve producibility, lower cost, and shorten lead times.

• Review and approve process flows, manufacturing and inspection plans, control plans, PFMEAs, work instructions, and qualification documentation.

• Coordinate First Article Inspection under AS9102 and resolve FAI discrepancies and manufacturing nonconformances.

Quality, problem solving, and process improvement

• Audit and embed in core supplier processes to find opportunities to improve cost, lead time, and quality.

• Lead onsite root-cause investigations into defects, dimensional nonconformances, process variation, tooling issues, material shortages, and production constraints.

• Use structured root-cause and corrective-action methods, including 8D, 5-Why, fishbone, and fault-tree analysis.

• Apply lean manufacturing, process controls, mistake-proofing, yield improvement, cycle-time reduction, and production-flow improvements.

• Give suppliers technical guidance on part specifications, manufacturing processes and standards, and quality measures.

• Ensure compliance with AS9100, AS9102, engineering, configuration-control, special-process, and customer requirements.

Performance monitoring, capacity, and risk

• Track and analyze supplier delivery, quality, and cost metrics, and put corrective action and continuous improvement plans in place as needed.

• Evaluate capacity against current and future demand using cycle times, yield, equipment availability, staffing, tooling, and material flow.

• Create and manage measurable plans for technical development, production readiness, capacity recovery, and corrective action.

• Lead onsite supplier recovery and report progress, risks, and corrective actions to program and executive leadership.

• Watch performance trends to spot recurring issues, systemic risks, and improvement opportunities.

• Identify and reduce supply chain risk, including developing alternate sources for sole-source, long-lead, and flight-critical components.

Leadership

• Mentor Supplier Development, Supplier Quality, and Supply Chain team members.

• Lead cross-functional technical teams and improvement initiatives with limited oversight

Preferred Qualifications:

• Active U.S. government SECRET clearance at hire.

• Experience with aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, advanced aerospace platforms, or defense programs.

• Direct supplier development for airframe structures, landing gear, turbine engines, propulsion, or other flight-critical mechanical hardware.

• Experience developing or managing suppliers in Europe.

• Industrialization and production ramp-up of newly designed aerospace components and systems.

• Complex machining, tight tolerances, special processes, and aerospace materials.

• Metallic and composite airframe experience, including tooling, layup, curing, bonding, machining, drilling, trimming, assembly, and inspection.

• Landing gear manufacturing knowledge: forgings, machining, heat treatment, surface finishing, hydraulics, and assembly.

• Engine and propulsion manufacturing knowledge: castings, forgings, rotating components, engine mounts, fuel-system hardware, and high-temperature materials.

• Experience leading supplier recovery on critical delivery, capacity, or quality issues.

• Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, value-stream mapping, process capability analysis, and production-flow optimization.

• Familiarity with NADCAP-controlled special processes, FAR, DFARS, ITAR, export compliance, and government contracting.

• Prototype and production experience under aggressive schedule and rate requirements.

• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer, Six Sigma Green or Black Belt, APICS/ASCM, or a similar professional certification.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Aerospace, Chemical, Materials, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field.

• 10+ years in supplier development, manufacturing/process/mechanical engineering, supplier quality, quality engineering, or supply chain in aerospace, defense, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.

• A track record of developing suppliers or production lines and resolving complex manufacturing, quality, capacity, or delivery problems.

• Experience in one or more of: precision machining, airframe/structural assemblies, metallic or composite structures, landing gear, engines/propulsion, engine mounts, complex mechanical assemblies, castings/forgings, or special-process/finished components.

• Strong knowledge of CNC machining, structural fabrication, forming, welding, composites, casting, forging, heat treatment, plating, coating, finishing, and mechanical assembly.

• Confident reading and interpreting complex drawings, GD&T, bills of material, material specifications, and manufacturing requirements.

• Hands-on experience leading structured root-cause and corrective-action investigations (8D, 5-Why, fishbone).

• Experience with process audits, capability assessments, capacity analyses, and readiness reviews.

• Experience with FAI and AS9102 documentation, plus working knowledge of AS9100 and aerospace supplier qualification.

• Knowledge of PFMEA, control plans, process capability, statistical process control, measurement systems, and inspection methods.

• Skilled with CAD (SolidWorks, NX, CATIA, or similar), Excel and data analysis, and PLM or ERP systems.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and data-driven decision-making skills.

• Excellent written and verbal communication, including explaining technical risks and recovery plans to suppliers and senior leadership.

• Able to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Able to travel up to 50%, domestic and international.

• Able to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance.

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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.

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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.