Staff Engineering Specialist, Avionics (R5109)

Shield; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Benefits

Equity

Job summary

Shield AI is expanding its Avionics Engineering team to develop a flight-critical, custom avionics system for the X-BAT aircraft. The Avionics Specialist will support design, verification, procurement, and testing across cross-functional groups to ensure robust avionics for communications, compute, AI, power, telemetry, and other systems.

The role emphasizes hands-on testing, harness design, CAD work with Altium, and potential eligibility for a U.S. security clearance.

Qualifications

• 2+ years in electrical engineering environment with test equipment.
• Able to read schematics and apply to root-cause analysis.
• Hands-on harness design and build experience.
• Familiar with CAD tools such as Altium or equivalent.
• Familiar with Arena or equivalent PLM system.
• Able to work independently in fast-paced, cross-functional teams.
• Demonstrated work ethic, reliability, high standards and kindness.
• Ability to obtain S//SAR level security clearance is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Set up and run tests for custom circuits and subsystems, verify function.
• Support environmental qualification across temperature, vibration, altitude, humidity.
• Debug system and circuit issues and identify root causes.
• Design, verify, and deploy simple PCBAs.
• Architect and build complex wire harnesses and cable assemblies.
• Assist with equipment procurement, lab setup and prototype avionics manufacturing.
• Document results clearly and in detail.

Skills

2+ years experience

Read schematics

Harness design

CAD (Altium)

PLM systems (Arena)

Independent work

Team leadership

S//SAR clearance desirable

Tools

Altium

Arena PLM

Job description

Job Description

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 Follow Shield AI onLinkedIn,X,Instagram, andYouTube.Job Description:We are growing the Avionics Engineering team to support development of the X-BAT aircraft. Our team is designing a flight critical, custom avionics system to support communications, compute, AI, power, telemetry, and all other needed aircraft systems.An Avionics Specialist supports the entire Avionics team and other cross-functional teams. It is an essential role spanning design, verification, procurement, manufacturing, and test.

What you'll do:

• Set up and execute test campaigns for custom circuits and sub-systems such as verifying logic levels, voltage rails, and basic circuit functions
• Support engineers through environmental qualification that includes temperature, vibration, altitude, humidity, etc.
• Debug and root cause system and circuit issues
• Design, verify, and deploy simple PCBAs
• Architect, design, and build complex wire harnesses and cable assemblies
• Assist with equipment procurement, set up lab space, and help set up prototype avionics manufacturing
• Capture results detailed and clear documentation

Required qualifications:

• 2+ years' experience working in an electrical engineering environment and using test equipment such as an oscilloscope, multimeter, thermal chamber, etc.
• Proficiency reading electrical circuit schematics and applying them to root cause analysis
• Hands-on experience with harness design and build
• Familiarity with CAD software such as Altium or equivalent
• Familiarity with a PLM system such as Arena or equivalent
• Ability to work independently and lead in fast-paced, cross-functional teams
• A demonstrated record of working hard, being trustworthy, holding yourself to high standards, and being kind to others
• Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired.

#LI-JM2#LCFull-time regular employee offer package:Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + EquityTemporary 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.We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.