Job Description:
Are you a passionate and innovative thermal engineer looking to help develop state of the art aircraft? Are you eager to make a positive difference in the world? Do you want to work alongside mission driven and values focused teammates? Shield AI is just the place for you!
As a Senior Staff Thermal Engineer at Shield AI, you will lead the design, analysis, and integration of aircraft avionics thermal management systems. We are designing a high voltage, high power system using custom power electronics and energy storage. This role is best suited for an engineer who thrives on first-principles problem solving, is comfortable with ambiguous, open-ended challenges, and can bridge technical disciplines with strong communication and collaboration skills and the ability to simplify and communicate complex problems. The engineer will be a key contributor in shaping designs, mentoring peers, and ensuring robust thermal solutions that meet mission-critical aerospace requirements.
What you'll do:
- Own thermal analysis and design efforts for unmanned aerial vehicle avionics including custom power electronics
- Develop and validate analytical, numerical, and computational models for heat transfer and fluid flow using hand calculations and CFD tools such as FloEFD
- Provide technical leadership in trade studies, system architecture decisions, and risk assessments
- Lead cross-functional teams designing power electronic circuits and environmental enclosures. Provide design requirements that impact circuit part selection, board layout, material selection, and other design aspects
- Drive test planning, instrumentation, and data analysis to correlate models with experimental results
- Mentor junior engineers and guide cross-disciplinary teams in applying thermal/fluid fundamentals
- Communicate technical findings clearly through executive-level briefings, design reviews, and written reports
- Proactively identify risks, propose solutions, and influence electrical and/or PCBA design direction
Required qualifications:
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline
- Minimum 7 years of professional experience in avionics or electronics thermal engineering
- Strong expertise in heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) and fluid mechanics
- Deep understanding of active and passive cooling solutions and their integration at component and system level
- Deep understanding of thermal management design elements including TIMs, spreaders, heat sinks, vapor chambers, heat pipes, and fans
- Proficiency with thermal analysis and CFD tools (e.g., ANSYS Icepak, FloEFD, STAR-CCM+)
- Proficiency with CAD design tools such as NX, SolidWorks, or similar
- Demonstrated experience applying first-principles reasoning to complex engineering problems
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of leading technical discussions and presenting to stakeholders
- Proven ability to learn and adapt quickly to new tools, processes, and technical challenges in a fast paced, startup environment
- Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired.