Mechanical Design Engineer – Autonomous UAV Systems

Shield AI; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 88,000 - 132,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Shield AI seeks a Mechanical Designer/Drafter Engineer to contribute to autonomous UAV product design and development. You will architect new structures for launch/recovery, support detailed design, and collaborate with internal and external partners to prototype, test, and release products to production.

You will work across disciplines to ensure structural integrity, manufacturability, and mission-readiness in advanced autonomous aircraft platforms.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering.
• 2+ years in mechanical or mechanism design for ground vehicles.
• Strong CAD skills with NX preferred.
• Structural analysis via hand calculations and FEM.
• GD&T and tolerance stack-ups for mechanical systems.
• Materials selection including alloys, heat treatments, finishes.

Responsibilities

• Support design of complex structures for autonomous aircraft launch/recovery.
• Manage full design process: concept, CAD, tolerances, material selection, drawing release.
• Perform structural and kinematic calculations; preliminary FEA.
• Prototype, test, and iterate mechanism designs for reliability.
• Collaborate with electrical, avionics, flight controls, manufacturing and test teams.
• Support pre-production builds and ground/flight testing toward production.
• Participate in design reviews and technical decision forums.
• Identify opportunities to improve design processes and workflows.

Skills

Mechanical design

Structural analysis

Tolerance analysis

GD&T knowledge

Cross-functional teamwork

Education

B.S. in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

NX CAD

FMEA

DOE

FEA

Job description

Shield AI seeks a Mechanical Designer/Drafter Engineer to contribute to autonomous UAV product design and development. You will architect new structures for launch/recovery, support detailed design, and collaborate with internal and external partners to prototype, test, and release products to production.

You will work across disciplines to ensure structural integrity, manufacturability, and mission-readiness in advanced autonomous aircraft platforms.