# Senior Aerospace Engineer

**Company:** [Shield AI](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/shield-ai)
**Location:** Dallas, TX
**Role:** Hardware Engineering
**Salary:** $115k – $150k/yr
**Experience:** 5+ years
**Skills:** Flight Dynamics, Aircraft Performance, Aerodynamics, Propulsion, Python, MATLAB, Weight And Balance, Center Of Gravity, Flight Testing, Matlab/Simulink, Xflr5, Avl, Guidance Navigation And Control
**Posted:** 2026-08-27

> Owns flight performance, endurance, weight and balance, and aerodynamic and propulsion modeling for a fixed-wing autonomous aircraft. The role requires aerospace experience, flight-test and data-analysis capabilities, and collaboration across design, controls, and payload teams.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Develop and refine endurance, range, loiter, and cruise performance calculations using flight dynamics, aircraft configuration, operating environment, and mission profiles.
- Own aircraft weight, balance, and center-of-gravity models, including tracking, allocation budgets, and reporting through design and configuration changes.
- Create, validate, and maintain aerodynamic and propulsion models for Guidance and Controls, flight computer, and autonomy systems.
- Collaborate with mechanical and propulsion design engineers on the performance effects of airframe, wing, and control-surface changes.
- Evaluate payloads and customer-specific configurations for endurance and aircraft performance.
- Plan and lead flight-test campaigns to validate operational envelopes, correlate models with flight data, and characterize aircraft performance.
- Participate in root-cause analysis of performance anomalies and test findings, driving corrective actions to completion.
- Analyze flight and test data to establish and refine operational-envelope requirements and performance specifications.

## Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or an equivalent technical field.
- 3+ years of experience in the aerospace or defense industry.
- Understanding of fixed-wing flight dynamics, aircraft performance, and aerodynamic and propulsion fundamentals.
- Proficiency analyzing large datasets to define operational-envelope requirements and validate models, using Python, MATLAB, or equivalent tools.
- Experience developing or maintaining aircraft weight and center-of-gravity models.
- Ability to collaborate cross-functionally and drive technical changes.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including presenting technical findings to varied audiences.

## Nice-to-haves
- Full lifecycle experience taking a product from concept through development, flight test, and field sustainment.
- Experience with fixed-wing unmanned aerial systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, or autonomous aircraft.
- Experience building or tuning aerodynamic and engine models for guidance, navigation, and control systems.
- Hands-on flight-test experience, including test planning, instrumentation, and data reduction.
- Familiarity with fixed-wing modeling and simulation tools such as MATLAB/Simulink, XFLR5, and AVL.
- Understanding of airworthiness, safety, or defense acquisition standards.

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