Staff Engineer, Thermal Engineering (R6172)

The role

You will be the technical authority for avionics thermal management and electronics cooling on aircraft, including V-BAT. You will define thermal architecture and carry thermal solutions from concept through qualification and production, and mentor other engineers.

What you will do

• Serve as technical owner for avionics thermal management on V-BAT, from concept through production.
• Define avionics thermal architecture, thermal requirements and interface requirements.
• Develop and approve heat transfer and fluid flow models using hand calculations and CFD tools.
• Lead trade studies, architecture decisions and risk assessments.
• Define qualification and verification strategy and lead thermal test planning and data analysis.
• Support environmental qualification to MIL-STD-810 and RTCA DO-160.
• Influence electrical and PCBA design early, including component placement and thermal design rules.
• Author thermal specifications and statements of work, and direct thermal hardware suppliers.
• Lead thermal content at design reviews and produce technical reports.
• Mentor junior and senior engineers and identify and drive program-level thermal risks to closure.

Required qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering or a related discipline.
• Minimum 8 years of professional experience in avionics or electronics thermal engineering, including technical ownership carried through qualification and production.
• Expert knowledge of heat transfer and fluid mechanics.
• Proven experience defining and integrating active and passive cooling at component, subsystem and system level.
• In-depth knowledge of TIMs, spreaders, heat sinks, cold plates, vapor chambers, heat pipes and fans.
• Advanced proficiency with thermal analysis and CFD tools such as ANSYS Icepak, FloEFD or STAR-CCM+.
• Experience with CAD tools such as NX or SolidWorks and PLM-controlled design release.
• Demonstrated experience planning and executing thermal qualification and verification testing.
• Track record of technical leadership in trade studies, design reviews and cross-functional decisions.
• Experience mentoring engineers and reviewing their technical work.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Proven ability to self-direct and deliver in a fast-paced startup environment.

Nice to have

• M.S. in a relevant engineering discipline.
• Experience with high-altitude aircraft avionics cooling and thermal design.
• Experience with MIL-STD-810, MIL-HDBK-310, RTCA DO-160 and MIL-HDBK-516.
• In-depth knowledge of aircraft integration constraints.
• Knowledge of materials and manufacturing methods for thermal hardware.
• Experience with transient and duty-cycle thermal analysis and system-level thermal budgets.
• Experience with supplier development and technical oversight of thermal hardware suppliers.

Benefits

• Bonus
• Benefits package (full-time regular employees)
• Equity (full-time regular employees)
• Temporary benefits package after 60 days (temporary employees)

Before you apply

• 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 to protect service members and civilians. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies.