Manager Mechanical Engineering - Hardware Test, X-Bat

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 Shield AI

Shield AI develops AI-powered autonomy software and aircraft systems that protect service members and civilians by enabling intelligent operations in contested environments. As part of the X-BAT program, you will help develop and validate next-generation autonomous aircraft and mission-critical hardware that must perform reliably in demanding operational conditions.

Job Description:

Shield AI is seeking a Manager, Mechanical Engineering to lead the mechanical hardware-test team supporting X-BAT. The team develops and sustains the test stands, fixtures, tooling, support equipment, and facility interfaces used to validate mission-critical aircraft hardware across development, integration, qualification, and production.

You will be accountable for the team's people, technical direction, operating model, and delivery across a portfolio of test-equipment projects. You will translate program and verification priorities into a clear roadmap, build the capacity needed to execute it, and establish the engineering standards that make test systems safe, repeatable, maintainable, and ready for sustained use.

The ideal candidate combines strong mechanical and test-equipment judgment with demonstrated people leadership. You know how to grow engineers, manage competing priorities, make sound technical tradeoffs, and scale a hardware capability from rapid prototype work into disciplined, configuration-controlled operations. You remain close enough to the hardware to guide architecture, lead critical reviews, and help the team resolve its hardest problems.

What you'll do:

• Lead, coach, and grow a team of mechanical engineers responsible for X-BAT hardware-test equipment; set clear expectations and provide regular feedback, career development, performance management, hiring, and onboarding.

• Own the mechanical hardware-test roadmap and delivery portfolio across development, subsystem integration, qualification, and production-test needs.

• Convert program milestones and verification needs into executable plans with clear scope, priorities, staffing, schedule, dependencies, decision owners, and risk-reduction actions.

• Manage team capacity and workload across concurrent test campaigns; identify resource gaps and communicate staffing, schedule, budget, and technical tradeoffs with transparency.

• Set the quality bar for requirements, concepts, design reviews, analysis, GD&T, tolerance analysis, DFM/DFA, drawing and model release, configuration control, validation, acceptance, and sustaining documentation.

• Ensure test stands and fixtures are safe, repeatable, maintainable, serviceable, and efficient for operators while meeting structural, thermal, durability, environmental, and facility-interface requirements.

• Serve as the senior mechanical escalation point for test-equipment architecture, load paths, materials, mechanisms, mounting, cooling, plumbing, instrumentation accommodation, guarding, and other hazards or interfaces.

• Establish and use meaningful operating metrics such as schedule predictability, design-review closure, first-pass checkout, equipment uptime, recurring failures, corrective-action closure, and reuse of proven designs.

• Drive standardization and reuse across test assets, including common design practices, modular hardware, documentation, checkout methods, and maintenance strategies.

• Partner with test, electrical, avionics, systems, manufacturing, quality, facilities, supply chain, technicians, and program leadership to resolve interfaces and deliver integrated test capability when it is needed.

• Oversee fabrication, procurement, assembly, commissioning, and sustainment strategies with internal shops and external suppliers; make informed make-versus-buy and schedule-risk decisions.

• Lead high-impact root-cause investigations and corrective actions involving test equipment or units under test, ensuring lessons learned improve future designs and team practices.

• Build a culture of technical rigor, urgency, ownership, candid communication, and safe hands-on execution.

Required qualifications:

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or a related STEM discipline.

• 8+ years of relevant experience developing complex mechanical hardware, test equipment, tooling, fixtures, or ground-support equipment in aerospace, defense, robotics, automotive, industrial systems, or another high-consequence environment.

• 2+ years of direct people-management experience, including goal setting, work allocation, coaching, performance management, hiring, and developing engineers.

• Demonstrated success leading a team or function through the design, release, fabrication, assembly, checkout, deployment, and sustainment of multiple complex hardware systems.

• Strong mechanical engineering fundamentals, including statics and dynamics, load paths, strength and stiffness, fatigue and durability, materials and finishes, fastener design, tolerancing, GD&T, and machine or fixture safety.

• Experience establishing engineering standards and leading effective requirements, architecture, and design reviews.

• Proficiency with an industry-standard CAD and product-lifecycle or release workflow such as NX, SolidWorks, CATIA, Teamcenter, or an equivalent toolset.

• Experience managing a multi-project technical roadmap, balancing resources and priorities, and communicating risk and tradeoffs to program and engineering leadership.

• Hands-on judgment developed in lab, prototype, manufacturing, or production environments, including collaboration with technicians, machinists, suppliers, and test operators.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a record of building alignment across engineering, operations, and program organizations.

Preferred qualifications:

• Experience developing and sustaining aerospace ground-test or production-test equipment for avionics, propulsion, structures, actuation, power systems, or other flight-critical hardware.

• Experience with environmental or qualification testing, including vibration, shock, thermal, pressure, contamination, or durability testing and the facility interfaces those tests require.

• Experience with high-load structural fixtures, rotating equipment, fluid systems, thermal-management hardware, or propulsion-related test equipment.

• Working knowledge of analysis tools such as ANSYS, Abaqus, Nastran, or equivalent methods used to support test-equipment design decisions.

• Experience with system-safety and reliability practices such as hazard analysis, DFMEA, FTA, proof-load testing, guarding, interlocks, or safe-state design.

• Experience improving equipment uptime, throughput, repeatability, maintainability, calibration, traceability, or configuration control in a production or qualification environment.

• Experience developing capital-equipment plans and managing fabrication partners or equipment suppliers.

• Active secret clearance or eligibility to obtain one, as well as SCI eligibility.

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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.