Lead Aerostructures Design Engineer for Autonomous UAVs

Shield AI; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 194,000 - 291,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Benefits

Equity

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Principal Aerostructures Design Engineer to lead the design and development of high‑performance structural systems for our next‑gen autonomous aircraft. As a senior member of the Mechanical Engineering team, you will own the structural design lifecycle from concept to production‑ready hardware.

You will work across disciplines to ensure structural integrity, manufacturability, and mission‑readiness while collaborating with manufacturing and flight test teams to transition

Qualifications

• 15+ years of aircraft structural design experience.
• Deep understanding of composite and metallic structures.
• Proficiency in CAD and FEA tools listed above.
• Experience with stress and fatigue analysis.
• Knowledge of DFMA, GD&T and tolerance stackups.
• Strong technical communication and cross-functional leadership.
• Ability to obtain S//SAR security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of structural components for Shield AI’s next-gen UAV platform.
• Own the structural design lifecycle from concept to drawing release.
• Use FEA for linear and nonlinear analysis, stress, and margin assessment.
• Collaborate with aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics, payload, and manufacturing teams.
• Lead design reviews and architecture discussions.
• Oversee structural validation testing and verification plans.
• Mentor junior engineers and review team work for quality.
• Transition designs from engineering to production and field deployment.

Skills

Aircraft structural design

FEA analysis

DFMA

GD&T

Cross-functional leadership

Technical communication

Security clearance

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

NX

CATIA

SolidWorks

ANSYS

Abaqus

NASTRAN

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Principal Aerostructures Design Engineer to lead the design and development of high‑performance structural systems for our next‑gen autonomous aircraft. As a senior member of the Mechanical Engineering team, you will own the structural design lifecycle from concept to production‑ready hardware.

You will work across disciplines to ensure structural integrity, manufacturability, and mission‑readiness while collaborating with manufacturing and flight test teams to transition