Senior Staff Engineer, Weapons Physical Integration

About the role

Shield AI, a defense-tech company developing aircraft such as V-BAT and X-BAT, is looking for a Senior Staff Engineer for weapons physical integration. The engineer will be the expert on integrating weapons and payloads onto aircraft, using best practices and MIL-STD-1289 to drive designs for weapons-bay integration and external pylons.

Key responsibilities

• Combine and collaborate with aircraft design teams to perform mechanical weapons integration activities.
• Design pylons and fittings.
• Work across analysis teams to iterate designs.
• Support design reviews and report on the progress of the design process.
• Support integration and test efforts, including ground and flight tests.
• Be the go-to person for weapons and payloads physical integration on X-BAT.

Required profile

• B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering.
• 10+ years in mechanical or mechanism design.
• Demonstrated experience designing suspension and release mounting fixtures and fittings, and weapon pylons.
• Familiarity with Bomb Rack Units/Assemblies (BRA/BRU) and Launcher Assembly Units (LAU).
• Knowledge of pneumatic power systems used on military aircraft.
• Ability to work independently in fast-paced, cross-functional teams and to hold oneself to high standards.
• S//SAR-level security clearance desired.

Required skills

• Strong CAD skills (NX preferred)
• MIL-STD-1289 standards

Preferred: experience with UAVs, aircraft or robotic systems; familiarity with electro-mechanical actuators; hands-on machine shop or mechanic experience; ability to thrive in startup, R&D or defense innovation environments.