Senior Staff Engineer, Flight Control Actuation Systems (RX) (R5999)

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. The company operates across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia‑Pacific, and its technology actively supports operations worldwide.

Responsibilities

• Define, allocate, and own the flight‑control actuation system (FCAS) requirements and verification traceability matrix.
• Design and analyze control‑surface actuation systems, covering sizing, dynamic response, bandwidth, redundancy, and failure modes.
• Drive the control‑law‑actuator interface with Flight Controls and Vehicle Management Systems, including actuator dynamics modeling and control‑surface authority requirements.
• Lead actuator power‑source architecture and load analysis with EPS and hydraulic systems leads, and resolve actuator heat‑generation and local thermal‑load interfaces.
• Coordinate control‑surface hinge moments and actuator reaction loads with structures.
• Define and execute FCAS qualification test plans per MIL‑HDBK‑516 and MIL‑STD‑810, using test results to mature qualified flight‑control actuation hardware.
• Lead FCAS 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 flight‑control actuation system design on fixed‑wing aircraft.
• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace 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.
• Ability to self‑direct, prioritize technical tasks without oversight, and deliver functional hardware under tight timelines.
• Experience with actuator dynamic performance analysis, including bandwidth, response, stability margins, failure‑mode analysis, and redundancy analysis.
• Experience coordinating with flight‑controls and VMS engineers on actuator‑control‑law integration.
• Familiarity with MIL‑HDBK‑516 and MIL‑STD‑810 as applied to flight‑control actuation, 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).
• Unmanned or autonomous flight‑control experience, including knowledge of redundancy philosophy differences from manned aircraft.
• Experience with EMA or EHA control‑surface actuators.

Compensation

Salary range: $173,760 – $260,640 per year. Full‑time regular employee offers include pay within the listed range, bonus, benefits, and equity. Temporary employee offers include 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

• Bonus
• Standard employee benefits (health, retirement, etc.)
• Equity participation
• Temporary benefits package for temporary employees after 60 days