Staff Engineer, Mass Properties - Ranger

About the role

Shield AI, a defense-tech company developing autonomous aircraft such as V-BAT and X-BAT, is hiring a Mass Properties Engineer for its Ranger program. You will track and analyze mass properties throughout the product lifecycle, supporting aircraft performance trade studies, loads development, structural analysis, cost analysis and mission effectiveness evaluations.

Key responsibilities

• Lead and take part in system-level trade studies optimizing payload, propulsion, power distribution, thermal management and flight dynamics.
• Perform mass properties estimation for early-stage designs, prototyping and full-scale production.
• Estimate, calculate and verify weight, center of gravity and inertia for components, assemblies and complete aircraft systems.
• Develop and refine analysis tools and methods for mass properties estimation and optimization.
• Generate and maintain mass properties reports for engineering, manufacturing and leadership teams.
• Run mass properties verification tests to validate design assumptions.
• Work with aerodynamics, structures, avionics, propulsion and manufacturing teams to control mass properties.
• Maintain the mass properties database to track weight trends across vehicle programs.

Required profile

• B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Material Science/Engineering or a related field.
• 3+ years of mass properties analysis experience in aerospace, defense or high-tech vehicle development.
• Experience defining mass properties requirements and ensuring compliance across design iterations.
• Experience developing and maintaining a Mass Properties Management and Control Plan.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Required skills

• Proficiency in CAD software (SolidWorks, Siemens NX or similar).
• Familiarity with mass properties industry standards (ATA100, SAWE RP A-7, RP 7, RP 8 or predecessors).