Staff Engineer, Aircraft Thermal Systems - Ranger (R6351)

The role

You will own thermal analysis, design and vehicle integration for a Group 5 UAV fighter aircraft. You will model heat transfer, design cooling solutions, and deliver thermal hardware through test and qualification.

What you will do

• Define and mature aircraft-level thermal environments and thermal management solutions for vehicle bays and hot surfaces.
• Perform heat transfer and fluid mechanics calculations and build analytical, finite-difference and CFD models.
• Design and evaluate active and passive cooling solutions, including ducting, airflow and thermal interfaces.
• Generate thermal requirements, assess technical risks and recommend designs that balance thermal performance with power, mass and volume.
• Develop thermal hardware layouts and CAD models, and resolve interfaces with structures, avionics and fluid systems.
• Define qualification and verification test plans, design test rigs and correlate models with test data.
• Write technical specifications and statements of work for thermal hardware and drive supplier execution.
• Execute qualification test plans per MIL-STD-810 and support MIL-HDBK-516 Airworthiness Certification.
• Communicate thermal findings in design reviews and technical reports.
• Guide cross-disciplinary teams and influence vehicle-level thermal design decisions.

Required qualifications

• US citizen only, with an active Secret or higher clearance.
• 7 to 12 years of direct experience in aerospace thermal engineering, environmental control systems, or vehicle thermal and fluid system development.
• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• Deep mastery of thermodynamics, heat transfer and fluid dynamics applied to aircraft or defense systems.
• Demonstrated capability with first-principles calculations, finite-difference methods, and CFD or thermal tools such as FloEFD, STAR-CCM+, Thermal Desktop or equivalent.
• Demonstrated ability to design active and passive cooling for aircraft or comparable installations.
• Experience with 3D CAD and PLM workflows such as Siemens NX, CATIA, Creo, SolidWorks or equivalent.
• Proven track record sourcing COTS or custom aerospace components, driving suppliers to schedule, and assembling test setups.
• Ability to self-direct and prioritize technical tasks without oversight and deliver hardware under tight timelines.

Nice to have

• Experience with high-altitude aircraft thermal management, analysis and design.
• Hands-on experience with thermal and fluid system testing, instrumentation and data acquisition.
• Knowledge of materials and manufacturing methods relevant to aerospace thermal management.
• Background in multi-disciplinary system integration spanning avionics, fluid systems and systems engineering.
• Familiarity with aerospace environmental and airworthiness requirements and standards such as MIL-STD-810, MIL-HDBK-310, RTCA DO-160 and SAE AIR or ARP.

Benefits

• Bonus for full-time regular employees.
• Benefits for full-time regular employees.
• Equity for full-time regular employees.
• Temporary benefits package for temporary employees, applicable after 60 days of employment.

Before you apply

• Only US citizens with an active Secret or higher clearance are considered.
• All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check.
• Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits.

About the company

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company that builds intelligent systems, including Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies.