Senior Staff Thermal Engineer: Avionics Cooling & CFD Leader

Shield AI; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Shield AI in Dallas, TX is seeking a Senior Staff Thermal Engineer to lead design, analysis, and integration of avionics thermal management for unmanned aircraft. You will develop models for heat transfer and fluid flow, and guide cross-functional teams to robust thermal solutions.

Ideal candidates bring 7+ years in avionics or electronics thermal engineering, strong first-principles problem solving, and experience with CAD and CFD tools, in a fast-paced startup environment.

Qualifications

• Requires a B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering.
• 7+ years in avionics or electronics thermal engineering.
• Strong heat transfer and fluid mechanics knowledge.
• Deep understanding of active and passive cooling solutions.

Responsibilities

• Lead thermal analysis and design for UAV avionics and thermal/fluid systems.
• Develop and validate models using hand calculations and CFD tools.
• Provide technical leadership in trade studies and system architecture decisions.
• Drive test planning, instrumentation, and data analysis to validate models.
• Mentor junior engineers and guide cross-disciplinary teams.
• Communicate findings through executive briefings and reports.
• Identify risks and influence design direction.

Skills

Heat transfer

CFD

Thermal design

First-principles

Leadership

Executive communication

Education

B.S. in Mechanical or Aerospace Eng

M.S./Ph.D. preferred

Tools

ANSYS Icepak

FloEFD

STAR-CCM+

NX

SolidWorks

Job description

Shield AI in Dallas, TX is seeking a Senior Staff Thermal Engineer to lead design, analysis, and integration of avionics thermal management for unmanned aircraft. You will develop models for heat transfer and fluid flow, and guide cross-functional teams to robust thermal solutions.

Ideal candidates bring 7+ years in avionics or electronics thermal engineering, strong first-principles problem solving, and experience with CAD and CFD tools, in a fast-paced startup environment.