Engineer II, Avionics Thermal Engineering (R5298)

The role

You will own thermal solutions for unmanned aerial vehicle avionics, covering design, analysis and test. You will lead thermal and fluid trade studies, test planning and cross-team work on electronics cooling.

What you will do

• Own thermal solutions for unmanned aerial vehicle avionics including design, analysis, and test.
• Develop and validate analytical, numerical, and computational models for heat transfer and fluid flow using hand calculations and CFD tools such as FloEFD.
• Provide technical leadership in trade studies, system architecture decisions, and risk assessments.
• Drive test planning, instrumentation, and data analysis to correlate models with experimental results.
• Guide cross-disciplinary teams in applying thermal and fluid fundamentals.
• Communicate technical findings clearly through design reviews and written reports.
• Proactively identify risks, propose solutions, and influence electrical and/or PCBA design direction.

Required qualifications

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline.
• Minimum 2 years of professional experience in avionics or electronics thermal engineering.
• Strong expertise in heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) and fluid mechanics.
• Strong understanding of active and passive cooling solutions and their integration at component and system level.
• Understanding of thermal management design elements including TIMs, spreaders, heat sinks, vapor chambers, heat pipes, and fans.
• Proficiency with thermal analysis and CFD tools (e.g., ANSYS Icepak, FloEFD, STAR-CCM+).
• Experience with CAD design tools such as NX, SolidWorks, or similar.
• Demonstrated experience applying first-principles reasoning to complex engineering problems.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Proven ability to learn and adapt quickly to new tools, processes, and technical challenges 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.
• Familiarity with aircraft integration constraints (power, weight, volume, maintainability, safety).
• Hands-on experience with thermal and fluid system testing, instrumentation, and validation.
• Knowledge of materials and manufacturing methods relevant to thermal management.

Benefits

• Bonus for full-time regular employees.
• Benefits package 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

• 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 whose mission is protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies.