Engineering Manager, Air Vehicle Mechanical Systems (R5391)

Company: Shield AI
Location: San Diego, California
Type: full_time
Posted: Aug 19, 2026
Views: 0
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, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. 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 Manager of Actuated Systems to lead an aircraft mechanical systems team for our groundbreaking jet-engine VTOL military UAV platform, X-BAT. You will manage a team of engineers designing and integrating flight- and mission-critical mechanisms such as doors, uplocks/downlocks, landing gear, folding/packaging mechanisms, flight-control actuation integration, and propulsion/nozzle actuation mechanisms. You will support your team in making key architectural decisions, by being a key technical resource, and by being a strong leader of great engineers.
Projects that you might work on:
X-BAT Doors, FCAS, Landing Gear, Up/Down Locks

What you'll do:

  • Lead and develop a team of high talent mechanical engineers, from new grad to Principal, focused on aircraft mechanisms and actuation systems (architecture, detailed design, analysis support, release, and sustaining).
  • Support your team as a technical resource for end-to-end design of mechanisms including (as applicable):
  • Doors & latching
  • Uplocks / Downlocks
  • Landing gear mechanisms
  • Actuation integration for flight controls
  • Nozzle / propulsion actuation mechanisms
  • Actuation, Hydraulics
  • Set the quality bar for mechanisms engineering: what “good” looks like in sizing, tolerances, margins, drawings/MBD, materials/process selection, and verification evidence.
  • Enable extreme ownership by ensuring engineers have clear goals, interfaces, resources, and decision rights
  • Drive effective cross-functional collaboration (systems, structures/loads, aero, propulsion, GNC, avionics, manufacturing, quality, supply chain, test, flight test) by fostering excelling communication across interfaces.
  • Coach and develop engineers through technical mentorship, career development, feedback, hiring, onboarding, and performance management.
  • Manage team workload across multiple builds and test campaigns; communicate risk, staffing needs, and schedule impacts with transparency.

    • Required qualifications:

  • B.S. in Mechanical Engineering (or equivalent).
  • 10+ years experience with aerospace mechanisms and actuated system design, build, integration, test and flight.
  • 2+ years leading teams or performing in a team leadership role.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead teams with high autonomy—setting direction, ensuring quality, and scaling output through people.
  • Strong engineering fundamentals: kinematics, statics/dynamics, fatigue/wear, tolerancing/GD&T, materials and finishes, lubrication/bearings, failure modes.
  • Experience shipping hardware through prototype build, test, iteration, and release, including supplier and manufacturing engagement.

    • Preferred qualifications:

  • Experience with environmental and operational robustness (vibration/shock, thermal extremes, contamination, corrosion, sand/dust, etc.).
  • Experience supporting ground test and flight test campaigns and mechanism failure investigations.
  • Familiarity with reliability and safety methods (DFMEA/FTA, fault containment, safe-state thinking) in collaboration with systems safety.
  • Experience building supplier relationships for machined parts, actuation systems, mechanisms assemblies, understanding of special processes and inspection/acceptance strategies.
    • #LI-MS2
    #LD

    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.
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