Senior UAV Structures Design Lead

Shield; Oslo; On-site; NOK 1,587,000 - 2,380,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Senior Staff Aerostructures Design Engineer to own the design of high‑performance structural systems for our next‑generation autonomous aircraft. You will drive the structural lifecycle from concept to production, ensuring manufacturability, integrity, and mission readiness while collaborating with aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics, and manufacturing teams.

You will lead design reviews, perform advanced FEA, guide material selection, and mentor junior engineers, all

Qualifications

• 10+ years of aircraft structural design experience in development, test, or production.
• Ownership of components or systems with demonstrated accountability.
• Deep understanding of composite and metallic structures, joints, and effects.
• Experience with CAD and FEA tools (NX/CATIA/SolidWorks; ANSYS/Abaqus/NASTRAN).
• Stress, fatigue analysis and design optimization experience.
• Knowledge of DFMA, GD&T, tolerance stacks and structural layout.
• Strong technical communication and cross-functional leadership.
• Ability to obtain S//SAR level security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead design and development of structural components and assemblies for UAV platform.
• Own structural design lifecycle from concept to drawing release with traceability.
• Perform and guide linear/nonlinear structural analysis and margin checks.
• Collaborate with aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics, payload, and manufacturing teams.
• Support material selection focusing on composites and aluminum alloys.
• Lead design reviews and technical decision-makings for structural systems.
• Oversee structural validation testing from coupons to full-system tests.
• Author design docs, analysis reports, and verification plans per MIL-STD/FAA standards.
• Mentor junior engineers and review team outputs for quality.

Skills

Technical leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Strong communication

Mentoring

Ownership mentality

Quality-focused design

Security clearance readiness

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Mechanical/Aerospace

MS preferred in Aerospace/Mechanical

Tools

NX

CATIA

SolidWorks

ANSYS

Abaqus

NASTRAN

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Senior Staff Aerostructures Design Engineer to own the design of high‑performance structural systems for our next‑generation autonomous aircraft. You will drive the structural lifecycle from concept to production, ensuring manufacturability, integrity, and mission readiness while collaborating with aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics, and manufacturing teams.

You will lead design reviews, perform advanced FEA, guide material selection, and mentor junior engineers, all