Shield AI
Senior Staff Engineer, Actuation Systems Architecture & Design (RX) (R6003)
$174K–$261K
Dallas, Texas +1 · On-site · Senior Staff · Full-time · Posted Sep 22, 2026
- Location
- Dallas, Texas
Washington, D.C. - Experience
- 8 to 15 years in aircraft actuation systems design.
- Education
- B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- Visa sponsorship
- US citizens only; must have an active Secret or higher clearance.
About the job
Own the architecture, design, integration, qualification, and production transition of actuation systems and mechanisms for a Group 5 UAV fighter aircraft.
What you'll do
- Lead actuation-system architecture, requirements, actuator selection and sizing, and detailed design.
- Integrate actuation with vehicle mechanisms, power, thermal management, structures, and other systems; manage verification traceability.
- Plan and execute qualification testing, mature hardware for production, and lead design and qualification reviews.
What they ask for
- US citizenship and an active Secret or higher clearance.
- 8 to 15 years in aircraft actuation systems design, with hands-on depth in electric actuation (EMA or EHA) or centralized hydraulics and working knowledge of the other.
- B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- Experience sourcing aerospace components, driving suppliers, building test setups, and leading multidisciplinary actuation integration; familiarity with MIL-HDBK-516, MIL-STD-810, SRR, PDR, and CDR.
Nice to have
- Fighter or fighter-adjacent program experience.
- Electric aircraft actuation architecture or weapons-bay/store-separation-adjacent mechanism experience.
Pay
USD 173,760–260,640 per-year-salary (base salary)
Tools
EMA, EHA, MIL-STD-810, MIL-HDBK-516, SRR, PDR, CDR
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative