Principal Engineer, Electrical (R5909)

Shield AI; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 210,000 - 310,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Shield AI in San Diego seeks an Electrical Engineer to own the design, integration and troubleshooting of flight-critical avionics for the V-BAT platform, applying a strong foundation in power, embedded and control systems. You will drive concepts from initial idea through schematic capture, prototyping, testing and flight qualification.

You will lead cross-functional teams across Mechanical, Software, Production and Supply Chain, mentor teammates, optimize for EMI and thermal performance, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or equivalent
• 10+ years of experience as Electrical Engineer
• Strong fundamentals in circuit design, schematic capture, testing and debugging
• Proactive, proactive improvement and teamwork across hardware teams

Responsibilities

• Own flight critical avionics designs for V-BAT
• Own circuit and sub-system design for V-BAT and support equipment
• Lead design verification and manufacturing deployment
• Mentor power team and cross-functional peers
• Harden designs for harsh environments (shock/vibe, high reliability, radiation, high altitude)
• Full-cycle hardware development from concept to testing and validation
• PCB ownership: layout and design with ECAD engineers focusing on power, EMI, thermal
• Design for Safety, Manufacturability and Reliability across the product lifecycle
• Collaborate with Mechanical, Embedded, Software, Supply Chain and Production teams
• Lead and participate in cross-functional design reviews
• Manage project timelines, deliverables, milestones
• Define technical product requirements and features

Skills

Power electronics

Circuit design

Schematic capture

Debugging

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering

Tools

ECAD tools

Job description

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BATaircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

Job Description:

Shield AI is pioneering AI pilots for aircraft that protect service members and civilians - pushing the boundaries of autonomous flight. V-BAT is designed for deployment in the most demanding, high-stakes environments.

We are looking for an Electrical Engineer to join our team, focused on the design, integration and troubleshooting of electronics systems critical to our aircraft. This role is perfect for an engineer with a solid foundation in power, embedded and control systems who is eager to grow, own challenging projects, and see their work move rapidly from concept to flight. If you thrive in fast-paced environments, enjoy solving complex problems, and want to help build the future of autonomous aviation, we want to hear from you.

What you'll do:

• Own flight critical avionics designs for V-BAT
• Own circuit and sub-system design for V-BAT and its support equipment. This includes complex system architectures utilizing custom circuitry (power management, analog, digital, servos, microcontrollers, sensors, radios, etc.)
• Lead others to execute design, verification, and manufacturing deployment
• Provide mentorship and technical feedback to others on the power team and cross-functionally
• Harden the designs for harsh environments such as shock/vibe, high reliability, radiation, and high-altitude
• Full-cycle hardware development: Own the entire flow - concept, modeling, worst case analysis, schematic capture, simulation, prototyping, design reiteration for improving design maturity, testing and validation
• PCB ownership: Drive PCB layout and design with ECAD engineers, optimizing for power density, EMI, thermal, and manufacturability
• Design for Safety, Manufacturability and Reliability: Design robust systems keeping in mind best practices for safety, manufacturing and reliability
• Cross-functional collaboration: Work closely with Mechanical, CAD, Embedded, Software, Supply Chain, Test Automation, Production and various aircraft teams throughout the product lifecycle
• Design review leadership: Lead and contribute to cross-functional reviews ensuring robust, high-integrity engineering decisions. Mentor junior engineers that support your design
• Program execution: Manage project timelines, deliverables, and technical milestones to drive on-time, high-quality outcomes
• Help define technical product requirements and features

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering; or equivalent work experience
• You have 10+ years of industry experience as an Electrical Engineer
• Strong technical fundamentals
• You are experienced with: circuit design, schematic capture, component selection, circuit testing, and debugging
• You have a demonstrated record of working hard, being a trustworthy teammate, holding yourself and others to high standards, and being kind to others
• Proactively identify opportunities for improvement within hardware development projects, demonstrating initiative to propose and implement innovative solutions that enhance efficiency, quality, and overall project success and aircraft reliability

$210,000 - $310,000 a year

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Full-time regular employee offer package:

Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity

Temporary employee offer package:

Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)

Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.

Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed toequal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.