LIVE FEEDVIEWS 0UTC —
POSTING ACTIVE · REQ-45412 · FY26.Q2
Senior Mechanical Engineer, Systems Integration
Shield AI
[ COMPENSATION RANGE · ANNUAL · BASE ]
$110,000 – $160,000USD
MIDPOINT
$135,000
SPREAD
$50,000
LEVEL
SENIOR
§ 01OVERVIEW
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Job Description:
Shield AI is seeking a Spatial Integration Design Engineer to lead the design and physical integration of secondary support structures, subsystem installations, and vehicle routing architecture across the platform. This role is heavily focused on mechanical design, packaging, and installation definition within a highly constrained aerospace environment.
This engineer will own the design and development of support hardware, LRU installations, and routing solutions for EWIS, hydraulic, ECS, fuel, and mechanical systems. This includes concept development, CAD modeling, trade studies, structural and fitment analysis, drawing release, procurement support, and installation strategy development.
The ideal candidate has strong aerospace mechanical design experience, excellent spatial reasoning skills, and a deep understanding of vehicle integration constraints including maintainability, manufacturability, accessibility, thermal management, and assembly sequencing.
§ 02WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Lead the mechanical design and spatial integration of secondary support structures and subsystem installations across the vehicle
- Design brackets, trays, mounting provisions, equipment racks, supports, clips, and installation hardware
- Develop and maintain vehicle-level LRU layouts and packaging architectures
- Design routing solutions and installation provisions for:
- EWIS harnessing
- Hydraulic lines
- ECS ducting
- Fuel plumbing
- Pneumatic systems
- Perform CAD-based integration and packaging studies to resolve spatial conflicts and optimize vehicle layouts
- Generate detailed 3D models, installation drawings, interface definitions, and engineering release packages
- Perform fitment, tolerance, and installation analyses to validate integration solutions
- Develop installation strategies including assembly sequencing, accessibility, tooling access, and maintainability considerations
- Coordinate with manufacturing, structures, avionics, systems engineering, and test teams to ensure integration compatibility
- Support procurement and fabrication activities for designed hardware
- Support prototype build and vehicle integration activities by resolving installation and interference issues
- Participate in design reviews including PDR, CDR, and manufacturing readiness reviews
- Manage the CAD product structure for BOM exports
§ 03REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field
- Experience designing mechanical hardware and integrated aerospace installations
- Strong proficiency with CAD tools such as CATIA or Siemens NX
- Experience sizing parts for various failure scenarios
- Experience creating detailed engineering drawings and installation definitions
- Strong understanding of aerospace integration and packaging principles
- Familiarity with EWIS routing and subsystem installation constraints
- Experience integrating hydraulic, ECS, fuel, or mechanical systems within aircraft or vehicle platforms
- Understanding of GD&T, tolerance stack-up, and installation analysis principles
- Ability to balance structural, thermal, manufacturing, accessibility, and maintainability constraints within designs
- Strong communication and cross-functional coordination skills
- Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired.
§ 04PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience with military aircraft, spacecraft, UAVs, or advanced aerospace systems
- Experience supporting prototype builds or vehicle assembly activities
- Familiarity with aerospace installation and EWIS standards
- Experience with digital mock-up (DMU) and clash detection workflows
- Understanding of structural load paths and equipment mounting considerations
- Experience with PLM and configuration management systems
#LI-SM1
Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
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Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
- How much does the Senior Mechanical Engineer, Systems Integration at Shield AI pay?
- The posting lists a range of $110K–$160K per year. Ranges reflect what Shield AI publicly declared on the source posting.
- Where is this Senior Mechanical Engineer, Systems Integration role based?
- The role is based in San Diego, California.
- What experience does Shield AI expect for this role?
- The posting is tagged as a senior-level role, typically 5+ years of experience. Check the requirements section for specifics.
- Where is Shield AI headquartered?
- Shield AI is headquartered in San Diego, USA.
- How was this posting sourced?
- This role was pulled directly from Shield AI's Lever careers site. Apply links open in the employer's own ATS — no reposts or aggregator middleware.
[ APPLICATION ROUTE ]LEVER · External ATS
APPLY VIA LEVER→Apply links open in the employer's official ATS. Always verify recruitment messages on the company's careers page before sharing personal information.
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