Staff Engineer, Aircraft Configuration Design - Ranger (R6298)

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:

Shield AI is seeking an Aircraft Configuration Design Engineer to support the development of next-generation autonomous unmanned air vehicles (UAVs'). In this role, you will assist in the design, optimization, and integration of aircraft configurations, ensuring that vehicle aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, and mission systems are harmonized for performance, manufacturability, and operational effectiveness.

This position is ideal for a mechanical or aerospace engineer with a passion for cutting edge aircraft design, multi-disciplinary systems integration, and iterative prototyping in a fast-paced defense technology environment.

What you'll do:

Assist in the conceptual and preliminary design of Shield AI’s newest UAV platforms, ensuring optimal aerodynamic and structural configurations.

Support aircraft sizing, weight estimation, and trade studies to evaluate different airframe configurations.

Work with multi-disciplinary engineering teams (mechanical, electrical, propulsion, avionics) to ensure seamless system integration.

Develop and refine 3D CAD models of aircraft structures, subsystems, and flight critical components.

Perform basic aerodynamic and structural analysis using computational tools to assess feas