Staff Engineer, Thermal - Air Vehicle

Shield AI
Seattle
Workplace: OnsiteFull timeUSD 140,000 - 210,000 annuallyFunction: Data Science & Machine LearningExperience: 7+ yearsEducation: bachelorsSkills: ["Communication","Leadership","Mentoring","Problem-solving"]

Lead aircraft thermal engineering for the XBAT program, performing thermal analysis, modeling, and testing to optimize heat transfer and cooling in unmanned aircraft. Drive system architecture decisions, manage risk, mentor cross-disciplinary teams, and communicate findings through design reviews and technical reports to deliver robust, mission-critical thermal solutions.

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FursaFursa
Shield AI
Shield AI
4 months ago

Staff Engineer, Thermal - Air Vehicle

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Canonical indexed version, validated from employer's careers page.

Source: Company careers pageValidated by: Fursa AI
Last checked: 10 hours agoStatus: Live

Job Summary

Lead aircraft thermal engineering for the XBAT program, performing thermal analysis, modeling, and testing to optimize heat transfer and cooling in unmanned aircraft. Drive system architecture decisions, manage risk, mentor cross-disciplinary teams, and communicate findings through design reviews and technical reports to deliver robust, mission-critical thermal solutions.
Location: Seattle
Workplace: Onsite
Employment Type: Full time
Job Function: Data Science & Machine Learning

Key Responsibilities

  • •Execute thermal analysis and characterization efforts for unmanned aerial vehicle aircraft-level thermal systems.
  • •Architect and validate analytical, numerical, and computational models for heat transfer and fluid flow using hand calculations, finite difference methods, and CFD tools such as FloEFD.
  • •Execute trade studies, make system architecture decisions, own requirements generation, and make technical risk assessments.
  • •Define and oversee test planning, instrumentation, and data analysis to correlate models with experimental results.
  • •Mentor and guide cross-disciplinary teams in applying thermal/fluid fundamentals.

Pay and Benefits

Salary: USD 140,000 - 210,000 annually
Equity and Bonus:Equity
Perks:Annual BonusEquity

Key Requirements

  • •B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline.
  • •Minimum 7 years of professional experience in thermal engineering.
  • •Deep expertise in heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) and fluid mechanics.
  • •Advanced understanding of active and passive cooling solutions.
  • •Knowledge of thermal management techniques for aircraft bays, engine bays, and hot surfaces.
Experience:7+ yearsAerospaceDefenseUnmanned aircraft
Education:Bachelor's
Skills:CommunicationLeadershipMentoringProblem-solving
Tech Stack:FloEFDSTAR-CCM+Thermal DesktopNXSolidWorks

Company Brief

Shield AI
Develops AI-powered autonomy and software for military aircraft and drones to enable autonomous ISR and combat missions, integrating perception, navigation, and mission planning for defense customers.
Industry: Defense Technology
Company Size: Large (251 to 1,000 employees)
Growth: Scaleup
Funding: Series E+
Headquarters: San Diego, United States
Founded: 2015
WebsiteLinkedIn