Co-op Reliability Engineer — Autonomous Aircraft

Shield AI; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 52,000 - 101,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation stipend

Mentorship from Shield AI engineers

Paid company holidays

Networking events and presentations

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Co-op candidate to join our team in building autonomous aircraft. You will work with cross-functional engineers on hardware reliability, environmental testing, and design-for-reliability initiatives, mentored by a senior engineer.

The program runs for several months, starting in June 2027 with flexible end dates, and offers paid, full-time engagement. You will engage in reliability testing, failure analysis, and data-driven reporting while collaborating with manufacturing,

Qualifications

• Must have completed at least the 2nd year of a related degree (Electrical, Mechanical, Materials, Reliability).
• Strong technical fundamentals and ownership of project outcomes.
• Experience in engineering team environments (clubs or teams).
• Experience with electrical design software/tools (Altium, KiCAD, oscilloscope).
• Hands-on materials characterization tools (SEM, microscopes, CT, FTIR, DSC).

Responsibilities

• Own the assigned co-op project tailored to start date, duration, and location.
• Contribute to reliability analyses and testing plans for hardware.
• Support design-for-reliability practices with cross-functional teams.
• Develop software tools to analyze components and feed results into reliability analyses.
• Assist in HALT/HASS environmental testing and data reporting.

Skills

Strong technical fundamentals

Engineering teamwork

Python data analysis

Education

Electrical Engineering (2nd year)

Mechanical/Materials/Reliability Eng. (2nd year)

Tools

Altium

KiCAD

ANSYS Mechanical

SolidWorks

Oscilloscope

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Co-op candidate to join our team in building autonomous aircraft. You will work with cross-functional engineers on hardware reliability, environmental testing, and design-for-reliability initiatives, mentored by a senior engineer.

The program runs for several months, starting in June 2027 with flexible end dates, and offers paid, full-time engagement. You will engage in reliability testing, failure analysis, and data-driven reporting while collaborating with manufacturing,