Senior Staff Engineer, Actuation Systems Architecture & Design (RX) (R6003)

About the role

Shield AI is a venture‑backed defense‑tech company focused on 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. Shield AI operates worldwide with offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia‑Pacific.

Responsibilities

• Lead architecture, requirements definition, and detailed design of actuation systems across bay doors and other airframe mechanisms.
• Own actuator selection and sizing, sequencing, redundancy management, failure‑mode analysis, and interfaces with the mechanisms they actuate.
• Drive integration of actuation systems with control surfaces, weapons bay doors, and other vehicle mechanisms, addressing timing, load, sealing, and structural interface requirements.
• Own actuator power architecture and load‑analysis interfaces with EPS, and manage heat‑generation and heat‑rejection interfaces with thermal management.
• Define, allocate, and own verification traceability for actuation system requirements with FCAS, EPS, thermal management, structures, and propulsion IPTs.
• Perform focused technology assessments to resolve specific actuation design and integration risks.
• 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.
• Lead design‑maturity and qualification‑status reviews at SRR, PDR, and CDR.

Required qualifications

• U.S. citizenship with an active Secret or higher clearance.
• 8–15 years of experience in aircraft actuation systems design, with hands‑on depth in electric actuation (EMA or EHA) or centralized hydraulics and working knowledge of the other.
• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Proven track record sourcing COTS/custom aerospace components, driving suppliers to schedule, and assembling benchtop or vehicle‑level test setups.
• Demonstrated ability to self‑direct, prioritize technical tasks without oversight, and deliver functional hardware under tight timelines.
• Depth in actuator sizing, power and thermal interfaces, FMEA, redundancy management, and mechanical mechanism integration.
• Experience leading multi‑disciplinary actuation design and integration efforts with electrical power, thermal management, structures, and adjacent mechanical systems stakeholders.
• 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 experience on fighter or fighter‑adjacent programs (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.

Pay

$173,760 – $260,640 per year. Full‑time regular employee offers include base pay within the listed range, bonus, benefits, and equity. Temporary employee offers include base pay within the same range plus a temporary benefits package after 60 days of employment. Salary is influenced by factors such as skill set, experience, licenses, certifications, and work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check.

Benefits

Full‑time regular employees receive a comprehensive benefits package, bonus opportunities, and equity participation. Temporary employees receive a temporary benefits package after 60 days of employment. Military fellows and part‑time employees are not eligible for benefits.