Principal Aerostructures Design Engineer (R4721)

Responsibilities

• Lead the design and development of structural components and assemblies for Shield AI’s next-gen UAV platform, focusing on primary and secondary aircraft structures.
• Own the structural design lifecycle including concept generation, CAD modeling, detail design, and drawing release.
• Use FEA tools to perform linear and nonlinear structural analysis, stress analysis, and margin assessment.
• Collaborate with aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics, payload, and manufacturing teams for system integration.
• Support material selection for composites, aluminum alloys, and advanced manufacturing.
• Participate in and lead design reviews, architecture discussions, and technical decision-making.
• Oversee structural validation testing from coupon-level to full-system.
• Guide development of design documentation, analysis reports, and verification plans per MIL-STD, FAA, and internal standards.
• Mentor junior engineers and review team work.
• Collaborate with manufacturing and flight test teams for production transition.
• Identify process improvements for design, configuration management, and workflows.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in aircraft structural design with ownership of components or systems.
• Deep understanding of composite and metallic structures, material behavior, joints, and thermal/environmental effects.
• Expertise in CAD tools (NX, CATIA, or SolidWorks) and FEA tools (ANSYS, Abaqus, NASTRAN, or similar).
• Experience in stress analysis, fatigue analysis, and design optimization.
• Strong knowledge of DFMA, GD&T, tolerance stackups, and structural layout principles.
• Clear technical communication and cross-functional leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• M.S. degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering.
• Strong NX CAD skills.
• Experience with Group 3–5 UAV, DoD aircraft, or high-performance aerospace programs.
• Knowledge of aerospace standards (MIL-STD, ASME Y14.5, FAA FARS).
• Experience in flight vehicle integration, manufacturing liaison, or production support.
• Familiarity with model-based engineering, digital twin, or configuration management tools.
• Experience in failure analysis, design iteration, and test correlation.
• Work in startup, R&D, or high-growth defense environments.