Deputy Chief Engineer, X-BAT Air Vehicle

Shieldai; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Deputy Chief Engineer for the X-BAT air vehicle in Seattle to lead design, development, test, and maturation across disciplines. You will manage system requirements, architecture, interfaces, and verification while guiding a team through ambiguity and scaling toward production.

The role requires broad aircraft technical depth, strong systems thinking, and the ability to balance performance, safety, cost, and schedule while maintaining technical integrity and security

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, Systems Engineering or related field.
• 12+ years of progressive experience developing complex aircraft or integrated aerospace products.
• Technical leadership on an aircraft-development program, at Chief Engineer or Deputy level.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary technical deputy to the X-BAT Air Vehicle Lead and translate objectives into engineering priorities.
• Maintain the air vehicle technical baseline: requirements, architecture, interfaces, configuration, performance, and airworthiness evidence.
• Lead day-to-day integration across aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, avionics, software, and test.
• Drive technical decisions using first-principles analysis with awareness of schedule, cost, and producibility.
• Establish disciplined technical-risk processes and retire risks via analysis or test.
• Lead major design reviews through fabrication, ground/test, and production.

Skills

Technical leadership

Systems thinking

Multidisciplinary teams

Strong communication

U.S. security clearance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace/Mechanical/Electrical/Systems Engineering

Master’s degree in Aerospace/Systems Engineering (preferred)

Tools

MBSE

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Deputy Chief Engineer for the X-BAT air vehicle in Seattle to lead design, development, test, and maturation across disciplines. You will manage system requirements, architecture, interfaces, and verification while guiding a team through ambiguity and scaling toward production.

The role requires broad aircraft technical depth, strong systems thinking, and the ability to balance performance, safety, cost, and schedule while maintaining technical integrity and security