Senior Liaison Engineer - Sustaining

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:

We're hiring a Senior or Staff Liaison Engineer to be the engineering point of contact for hardware issues affecting V-BAT production, testing and fielded aircraft. This person holds engineering authority for nonconformance (NCR) and Material Review Board (MRB) dispositions, which covers anything that isn't simply reworked to print, including use-as-is and repair. They pull in Structures, Thermal and Design when they need specialist input to confirm a path forward. 

The ideal candidate is the person Production and Quality go to when they ask, "I have this problem, how do I solve it?" They own the answer from start to finish: the disposition, the rework or repair instructions, the drawing updates, and the long-term corrective action that keeps the problem from coming back. Composite repair experience is essential. This role is focused on liaison and sustaining engineering, not new-product design. 

What you'll do:

• Lead the resolution of mechanical issues arising from production, testing, fielded aircraft and customer operations, including hands-on support during builds, integration and troubleshooting.

• Serve as the engineering point of contact and approval authority for NCR and MRB dispositions, bringing in Structures, Thermal and Design as needed to confirm a path forward.

• Disposition nonconformances as use-as-is, repair, rework, scrap or return to vendor, with documented reasoning about the effect on form, fit, function and structural integrity.

• Evaluate and disposition issues across a wide range of hardware, including metallic, composite and plastic parts, wire harnesses and electronic assemblies.

• Write rework and repair instructions for individual NCRs and for standard pre-approved repairs, including inspection and acceptance criteria.

• Partner with Quality to drive issues to resolution and lead formal root cause and corrective action (RCCA) investigations when needed, using fault trees, 5 Whys, failure analysis and test-based troubleshooting.

• Coordinate investigations across Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Test and Field Operations.

• Decide when issues need changes to designs, drawings, processes, inspections or supplier controls, and drive CAD, drawing, specification and BOM updates through release.

• Track recurring nonconformances and feed lessons learned back into designs and processes. 

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering or a related field.

• 5+ years of relevant experience for Senior Engineer, or 8+ years for Staff Engineer

• Experience reviewing and dispositioning NCRs within an MRB process in aerospace, defense or another regulated industry.

• Experience supporting production, sustaining engineering, fielded products or complex hardware troubleshooting.

• Experience writing rework or repair instructions for production hardware.

• A track record of resolving technical issues through verified corrective action, including formal RCCA.

• Proficiency with 3D CAD, engineering drawings, GD&T and mechanical design for manufacturing.

• Strong technical writing and documentation skills, and clear communication across teams. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience as a liaison or MRB engineer on aircraft or UAS production.

• Experience classifying structural versus non-structural repairs, or writing standard repair procedures or structural repair manuals.

• Working knowledge of composite materials, processes and inspection methods, such as prepreg, wet layup, bonding, cure cycles, tap testing and ultrasonic testing.

• Familiarity with workmanship standards for wire harnesses and electronic assemblies, such as IPC/WHMA-A-620 and IPC-A-610.

• Familiarity with metallic and plastic manufacturing processes, finishes and common defect modes.

• Ability to assess structural margin, or experience working closely with stress and thermal analysts.

• Experience in an AS9100 quality environment.

• Experience with Siemens NX and Teamcenter.

• Experience supporting fielded aircraft and customer operations. 

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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.