Senior Avionics Thermal Engineer – UAV Heat & CFD (Equity)

Shield AI; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Bonus

Benefits

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Senior Thermal Engineer to own the design, analysis, and integration of aircraft avionics thermal management systems and electronics cooling. You will lead first-principles, CFD-driven solutions for unmanned aircraft, coordinating across engineering teams to ensure robust thermal performance.

The role requires at least 4 years in avionics/thermals, strong heat transfer and fluid mechanics knowledge, and hands-on testing experience.

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical or Aerospace engineering.
• 4+ years in avionics or electronics thermal engineering.
• Strong heat transfer and fluid mechanics knowledge.
• Active and passive cooling experience.
• Familiarity with TIMs and cooling components.
• Proficiency with CFD tools (ANSYS Icepak, FloEFD, STAR-CCM+).
• CAD tools such as NX or SolidWorks.
• Strong written and verbal communication.
• Ability to learn new tools in a startup environment.

Responsibilities

• Own thermal solutions for UAV avionics including design, analysis, and test.
• Develop and validate heat transfer and fluid flow models.
• Lead trade studies and risk assessments in thermal system design.
• Plan tests, instrument, and analyze data to validate models.
• Guide cross-disciplinary teams on thermal-fluid fundamentals.
• Present findings in design reviews and reports.
• Identify risks and influence design direction.

Skills

Thermal analysis

CFD

Heat transfer

Fluid mechanics

First-principles reasoning

Technical communication

Problem solving

Learning agility

Education

B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace engineering

M.S. in engineering (preferred)

Tools

NX

SolidWorks

FloEFD

ANSYS Icepak

STAR-CCM+

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Senior Thermal Engineer to own the design, analysis, and integration of aircraft avionics thermal management systems and electronics cooling. You will lead first-principles, CFD-driven solutions for unmanned aircraft, coordinating across engineering teams to ensure robust thermal performance.

The role requires at least 4 years in avionics/thermals, strong heat transfer and fluid mechanics knowledge, and hands-on testing experience.