Staff Engineer, Fluid and Mechanical Systems (RX) (R6000)

The role

You will own fluid-system layouts, thermal transport hardware and related mechanical design for a Group 5 UAV fighter aircraft. The work covers ram-air circuits, liquid cooling, ECS/TMS fluid architecture and installations that are ready for vehicle integration.

What you will do

• Develop and mature fluid system layouts for ram-air, liquid cooling, ECS/TMS and hydraulic distribution.
• Perform pressure-drop, flow-balance, pump, reservoir and thermal-capacity sizing.
• Build and maintain fluid and thermal system models in Flowmaster, AMESim, GFSSP or equivalent tools.
• Design brackets, mounts, line supports and installation provisions, including tolerance and clearance analysis.
• Select and specify pumps, valves, heat exchangers, accumulators, filters, lines and actuators.
• Resolve interfaces with structures, EWIS, thermal, electrical power and adjacent mechanical systems.
• Support failure mode analysis, contamination control, leak prevention and redundancy definition.
• Support component sourcing, supplier technical execution, prototype assembly and test-fixture development.
• Define and execute qualification test plans per MIL-STD-810 and support MIL-HDBK-516 airworthiness certification.

Required qualifications

• US citizen only, with an active Secret or higher clearance.
• 7 to 12 years of fluid systems design, thermal systems analysis or mechanical systems installation experience in aerospace or a comparable regulated industry.
• B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering or a related technical discipline.
• Deep mastery of thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, mechanical design and tolerance stack-up.
• Demonstrated fluid system sizing and analysis, including pressure drop, flow networks and 1D fluid or thermal modeling.
• Demonstrated ability to create fluid-system layouts and mechanical installations that meet routing, packaging, maintainability and integration requirements.
• Experience in 3D CAD, routing, layouts and drawing release with Siemens NX, CATIA, Creo, SolidWorks or equivalent PLM workflows.
• Hands-on design of brackets, mounts, supports and installation hardware using hand calculations, tolerance analysis and basic structural analysis.
• Proven track record sourcing COTS/custom aerospace components, driving suppliers to schedule and assembling benchtop or vehicle-level test setups.
• Ability to self-direct, prioritize technical tasks without oversight and deliver functional hardware under tight timelines.

Nice to have

• Aircraft ram-air, liquid cooling, hydraulic, fuel or thermal transport loop design experience.
• ECS or thermal management system design and integration experience.
• Experience with electro-mechanical or electro-hydrostatic actuation systems and their mechanical installations.
• Familiarity with MIL-STD-810, MIL-HDBK-516 and airworthiness verification planning.
• Hands-on prototype build, fabrication or mechanical assembly experience in a rapid R&D environment.

Benefits

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

Before you apply

• Only US citizens can apply, and an active Secret or higher clearance is required.
• 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.