Lead Mission Systems Engineer for Next-Gen UAVs

InvestedintheMission; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a staff engineer for mission systems to lead the end-to-end engineering of unmanned aircraft payloads, avionics, weapons, and related support systems, delivering robust, certifiable designs.

You will drive system architectures, allocate requirements, and oversee integration from concept through flight test, ensuring safety, airworthiness, and program milestones while interfacing with customers and partners.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Electrical, Systems Eng or related field.
• 7+ years of aerospace/defense experience, with 5+ years in mission systems integration.
• Experience with aircraft payloads, avionics and/or weapons integration.

Responsibilities

• Lead system architecture and requirements development for payloads, avionics, and weapons integration.
• Serve as SME for mission systems engineering across the aircraft program.
• Drive trade studies to balance performance, cost, and schedule.
• Oversee integration and testing campaigns from bench-level HIL to flight test.
• Ensure compliance with MIL-HDBK-516C, DO-178C, DO-254 and related standards.
• Collaborate with PM to de-risk architectures and meet maturity gates.
• Interface with customers, partners, and suppliers to align system requirements and certifications.

Skills

Leadership

Systems engineering

Communication

Technical briefing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace/Electrical/Systems Engineering

Tools

MBSE

SysML

OMS/MOSA

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a staff engineer for mission systems to lead the end-to-end engineering of unmanned aircraft payloads, avionics, weapons, and related support systems, delivering robust, certifiable designs.

You will drive system architectures, allocate requirements, and oversee integration from concept through flight test, ensuring safety, airworthiness, and program milestones while interfacing with customers and partners.