# Senior Manager, Mechanisms Engineering (R4858)

**Company:** [Shield AI](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/shield-ai)
**Location:** Dallas, TX
**Role:** Hardware Engineering
**Salary:** $180k – $270k/yr
**Experience:** 10+ years
**Skills:** Nx, GD&T, FEA, Ansys, Abaqus, Nastran, Asme Y14.5, Mil-Std, Fmea, DFM
**Posted:** 2026-04-23

> Leads a team of mechanical engineers designing and developing high-performance mechanisms for autonomous aircraft launch and recovery systems, from concept to production. Owns mechanical deliverables, failure analysis, and cross-functional collaboration in a fast-paced environment.

## Job Description

## What you'll do

### Functional Excellence
- Directly contribute to the design, analysis, and integration of mechanical systems and subsystems for X-BAT Launch and Recovery Vehicle.
- Establish and improve pragmatic mechanical engineering standards, templates, specifications, and best practices that increase design quality, reduce rework, and enable faster iteration.
- Own mechanical engineering deliverables across the product lifecycle—from early concept and prototyping through test, production, and field support—with a bias toward execution and delivery.
- Own failure mode analysis and reliability modeling for mechanical systems, establish lightweight, repeatable practices (e.g., FMEA, fault trees) that proactively identify risks, reduce field failures, and inform design tradeoffs.
- Partner closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Quality, Program Management, and Flight Operations to ensure designs are buildable, testable, and reliable in real-world environments.
- Provide hands-on technical support during ground and flight testing, demos, and field operations; rapidly troubleshoot and implement design fixes under tight timelines.

### Team Leadership and Development
- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of mechanical engineers, providing technical guidance, regular feedback, and clear expectations for ownership and execution.
- Recruit and hire experienced mechanical engineers to strengthen team capability, elevate technical standards, and improve mentorship depth.
- Act as a player-coach: balance meaningful individual technical contribution with team leadership, design reviews, and day-to-day unblock of engineers.
- Establish team norms around accountability, decision-making speed, and engineering rigor—ensuring high-quality output without slowing momentum.
- Set clear priorities aligned with program goals; actively manage team bandwidth, identify risks early, and communicate tradeoffs to leadership.
- Drive clear and concise technical communication, ensuring design decisions, assumptions, and tradeoffs are well-documented and understood across functions.

## Required qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline.
- 10+ years of experience in mechanical design for aerospace, ground support equipment, or related ruggedized hardware systems.
- 3+ years of leadership/management with demonstrated excellence in building, retaining, and leading a high performing engineering team.
- Proficiency in 3D CAD software (**NX preferred**) with demonstrated ability to create detailed **GD&T-compliant** component and assembly 3D models and drawings.
- Proficiency in developing drawing templates/standards, and design/manufacturing specifications.
- Familiarity with industry standards (**ASME**, **ISO**, **ASTM**, or industry-specific regulatory requirements).
- Experience with engineering analysis methods (**FEA**, stress, thermal, tolerance stack-up, fatigue, fluid flow as applicable) to validate design integrity.
- Ownership of 2–3 full product development cycles from concept through release to production to on-going customer sustainment.
- Cross-functional collaboration experience with other Engineering Functions, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, Program Management, and Field Operations.
- Demonstrated ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, high-ownership development environment with evolving priorities.
- Strong written and verbal technical communication skills.

## Preferred qualifications
- M.S. degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering.
- Experience supporting **UAV**, **DoD**, or aerospace full vehicle programs.
- Familiarity with aerospace standards (**MIL-STD**, **ASME Y14.5**, **FAA**).
- Knowledge of manufacturing processes (machining, sheet metal, injection molding, casting, additive manufacturing) and ability to design for manufacturability (**DFM**).
- Knowledge of reliability modeling and analysis methods.
- Experience using **FEA** tools (**ANSYS**, **Abaqus**, **NASTRAN**, or similar) for linear structural analysis.

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