Staff Engineer – Structural Analysis

About the role

Shield AI is looking for a Staff Engineer to lead structural analysis and testing of advanced UAV airframes. You will collaborate with mechanical, systems, propulsion, and aerospace teams to ensure the structural integrity of lightweight, high‑performance aircraft.

Key responsibilities

• Build and refine finite element models (FEM) to evaluate UAV component performance.
• Perform static, modal, fatigue, and vibration analyses and validate results with hand calculations.
• Work with design engineers to optimize airframe structures for weight, strength, and manufacturability.
• Develop and support test plans for quasi‑static, vibration, and shock testing.
• Analyze flight telemetry and test data to improve modeling accuracy and correlate predictions with real‑world performance.

Required profile

• B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, or related engineering discipline.
• 7+ years of experience in structural analysis, finite element modeling, or aircraft loads analysis.
• Experience with FEA tools such as ANSYS, NASTRAN, or HyperWorks.
• Strong ability to perform hand calculations for strength, stability, and fatigue.
• Knowledge of composite materials and lightweight aerospace structures.

Required skills

• ANSYS
• NASTRAN
• HyperWorks
• MATLAB
• Python
• Excel
• NX
• SolidWorks
• Teamcenter