Senior Staff Engineer, Aerostructures Stress Analyst (R5845)

Lever, Inc.; Seattle, Northern (WA, KY); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Benefits

Equity

Job summary

Shield AI seeks a highly skilled structural engineer to lead analysis for next-generation autonomous aircraft. You will own FEM modeling, load cases, and margin assessments, delivering static, modal, fatigue and damage-tolerance studies. You’ll mentor analysts and partner with design, loads, aero, propulsion, and systems teams to optimize weight and performance.

Required: a B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering and 10+ years in aircraft structures with strong FEA experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering.
• 10+ years of structural analysis experience in aerospace.
• Experience with aircraft structures and FAA/flight-test validation.
• Ability to lead complex technical workstreams and influence design decisions.

Responsibilities

• Lead structural analysis for UAV airframes and major substructures.
• Define FEM approaches, load cases, margins, and validation.
• Perform static, modal, fatigue, vibration, and damage-tolerance analysis.
• Drive optimization balancing performance, weight, cost, and manufacturability.
• Support structural test strategy and correlate tests to analysis.
• Review deliverables and mentor junior analysts.

Skills

FEA expertise

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Strong communication

Education

B.S. Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

ANSYS

NASTRAN

HyperWorks

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:

We are seeking a highly motivated engineer to support the design, development, integration, and fielding of a next-generation autonomous aircraft system. This position requires a balance of technical rigor, rapid decision-making, and hands-on engineering to efficiently transition concepts into operational capability. The ideal candidate is comfortable solving complex problems, taking ownership, working within an accelerated aircraft development environment, and is motivated by getting meaningful capability into the hands of operators quickly.

What you'll do:

• Lead structural analysis efforts for UAV airframes, major substructures, and critical components within a program scope.
• Define and execute finite element modeling approaches, load cases, assumptions, and margin assessments.
• Perform and oversee static, modal, fatigue, vibration, and damage-tolerance analyses.
• Establish sound practices for hand calculations, model validation, and analysis-to-test correlation.
• Drive structural optimization across performance, weight, cost, and manufacturability targets.
• Support structural test strategy, including defining requirements, participating in execution, and correlating results to analysis.
• Review structural analysis deliverables, test reports, and technical documentation for design reviews.
• Mentor and technically guide structural analysts across varying experience levels.
• Partner cross-functionally with design, loads, aero, propulsion, and systems teams to balance structural requirements with overall aircraft performance goals.
• Contribute to evolving analysis methodologies and improving structural standards within the organization.

Required qualifications:

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in structural analysis, aircraft structures, or aerospace systems.
• Strong expertise with FEA tools (ANSYS, NASTRAN, HyperWorks, or similar).
• Advanced proficiency in hand calculations for strength, stability, fatigue, and damage tolerance.
• Significant experience with composite and lightweight aerospace structures.
• Experience supporting structural testing, model correlation, and flight test validation.
• Ability to lead complex technical workstreams and influence design decisions within a program.
• Strong communication skills and experience presenting analysis findings to engineering leadership.
• Ability to get a S//SAR level security clearance desired.

Preferred qualifications:

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering.
• Experience serving as a senior technical lead on aircraft or UAV structural programs.
• Hands-on involvement in flight test support and certification efforts.
• Experience contributing to internal analysis standards or best practices.
• Familiarity with CAD, PLM, and enterprise engineering toolchains.

$170,000 - $260,000 a year

#LI-MS2

#LE

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.

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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.