Senior Staff Engineer - Actuation Systems Architecture & Design

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 Senior Staff Engineer (L4/L5), you will take full technical ownership of actuation systems architecture, design, and integration for actuated systems and mechanisms on a Group 5 UAV fighter aircraft. You will work from first principles to define requirements, make sound design decisions, and drive the selected solutions through detailed design, integration, qualification, and production. 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:

• Actuation System Ownership: Lead the architecture, requirements definition, and detailed design of actuation systems across bay doors and other airframe mechanisms.

• Actuator and Mechanism Design: Own actuator selection and sizing, sequencing, redundancy management, failure mode analysis, and interfaces with the mechanisms they actuate.

• Vehicle Mechanism Integration: Drive integration of actuation systems with control surfaces, weapons bay doors, and other vehicle mechanisms, including timing, load, sealing, and structural interface requirements.

• Power and Thermal Integration: Own actuator power architecture and load-analysis interfaces with EPS, and heat-generation and heat-rejection interfaces with thermal management.

• Requirements and Verification: Define, allocate, and own verification traceability for actuation system requirements with FCAS, EPS, thermal management, structures, and propulsion IPTs.

• Targeted Technical Decisions: Perform focused technology assessments when needed to resolve specific actuation design and integration risks.

• 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.

• Program Execution: Lead design-maturity and qualification-status reviews at SRR, PDR, and CDR.

Required qualifications:

• Clearance required: US Citizens Only & Must have an Active Secret or higher clearance.

• Experience: 8 to 15 years in aircraft actuation systems design, with hands-on depth in electric actuation, including EMA or EHA, or centralized hydraulics and working knowledge of the other.

• Education: B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

• 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.

• Actuation Design Fundamentals: Demonstrated depth in actuator sizing, power and thermal interfaces, FMEA, redundancy management, and mechanical mechanism integration.

• Systems Integration: Demonstrated experience leading multi-disciplinary actuation design and integration efforts with electrical power, thermal management, structures, and adjacent mechanical systems stakeholders.

• Standards and Reviews: Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-516 and MIL-STD-810 as applied to actuation and mechanical systems, and experience supporting SRR, PDR, and CDR on a DoD or fighter-class aircraft program.

Preferred qualifications:

• Prior fighter or fighter-adjacent program experience, manned or unmanned.

• Experience developing electric actuation architectures for aircraft control surfaces or other mechanisms.

• Weapons bay mechanism or store separation-adjacent mechanical systems experience.

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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.