Staff Engineer, Fuel Systems (R5900)

The role

You will act as the Responsible Engineer for an aircraft fuel system, owning its requirements, design, integration, testing and operational support. You will work closely with propulsion, vehicle, supplier and flight teams on a next-generation autonomous aircraft.

What you will do

• Own requirements, architecture, interfaces, hardware and technical decisions for the aircraft fuel system from concept through operational deployment.
• Design, size and integrate fuel tanks, pumps, valves, plumbing, venting and pressurization systems, filtration, level sensing and related hardware.
• Analyze fuel system performance across the operating envelope, including transient engine demand, elevated-G maneuvering, tank depletion, slosh, vapor pressure, cavitation and thermal effects.
• Lead technical design reviews, supplier engagements and hardware procurement.
• Plan and execute component, subsystem and vehicle-level testing, including instrumentation, procedures and data acquisition.
• Analyze ground and flight data to validate performance, quantify margin and identify anomalies.
• Lead failure investigations and root cause efforts with corrective actions.
• Work hands-on with design engineers, technicians and other teams to build, integrate, troubleshoot and iterate flight hardware.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or a related engineering discipline.
• 7+ years of experience in aerospace fuel systems, fluid systems, propulsion or related aircraft system development, with demonstrated ownership of complex aerospace hardware.
• Strong understanding of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and compressible and incompressible flow.
• Strong understanding of aerospace fuel system design, including pressure losses, pump performance, venting, vapor pressure, cavitation, transient flow and thermal effects.
• Hands-on experience with fluid system hardware integration, instrumentation, testing, flight support and technical failure investigations.
• Strong proficiency in Python or similar tools for engineering analysis, data reduction and model correlation.
• Demonstrated ability to independently drive ambiguous technical problems to measurable results in a fast-paced environment.
• U.S. Citizenship and active security clearance.

Nice to have

• Experience developing fuel systems for high-performance aircraft, tactical aircraft, UAVs or similar platforms.
• Experience designing fuel systems for elevated-G maneuvering, aggressive vehicle dynamics or challenging fuel delivery conditions.
• Experience with fuel tanks, pumps, valves, regulators, level sensing, venting, pressurization and fuel system control hardware.
• Familiarity with GFSSP, REFPROP, CFD, ANSYS, FEA or similar thermal-fluid analysis tools.
• Experience working with aerospace suppliers through component selection, procurement, development, qualification and integration.
• Background in rocket propulsion or propellant systems.
• M.S. or Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline.

Benefits

• Full-time regular employee offer package includes bonus, benefits and equity.
• Temporary employee package includes a temporary benefits package, applicable after 60 days of employment.
• Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits.

Before you apply

• All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check.
• Active U.S. security clearance is required.

About the company

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company building intelligent systems to protect service members and civilians. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies.