--- title: 'Senior Staff Engineer, Structural Analysis (R4954) at Shield AI' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-engineer-structural-analysis-r4954-shield-ai-seattle-kzvm2gbafd2s' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-07' --- # Senior Staff Engineer, Structural Analysis (R4954) at Shield AI - **Company:** Shield AI - **Location:** Seattle, WA - **Compensation:** $200k–$300k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-02-19 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/29d5b3ec-2401-4b2c-9571-5fa6fecb6c0c ## Job description Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube. Job Description: Shield AI is seeking a Senior Staff Structural Analyst to provide advanced technical leadership in the structural analysis and validation of next-generation UAV platforms. In this role, you will serve as a senior subject-matter expert for airframe structures, leading complex analysis efforts, supporting test correlation, and ensuring structural integrity across development, flight test, and production. This role is ideal for engineers with 12–15+ years of experience who have led major structural workstreams on aerospace programs and are comfortable owning analysis execution, mentoring engineers, and influencing key design tradeoffs within a program. What you'll do: - Lead structural analysis efforts for UAV airframes, major substructures, and critical components within a program scope. - Define and execute finite element modeling approaches, load cases, assumptions, and margin assessments. - Perform and oversee static, modal, fatigue, vibration, and damage-tolerance analyses. - Establish sound practices for hand calculations, model validation, and analysis-to-test correlation. - Drive structural optimization across performance, weight, cost, and manufacturability targets. - Support structural test strategy, including defining requirements, participating in execution, and correlating results to analysis. - Review structural analysis deliverables, test reports, and technical documentation for design reviews. - Mentor and technically guide structural analysts across varying experience levels. - Partner cross-functionally with design, loads, aero, propulsion, and systems teams to balance structural requirements with overall aircraft performance goals. - Contribute to evolving analysis methodologies and improving structural standards within the organization. Required qualifications: - B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related field. - 10+ years of experience in structural analysis, aircraft structures, or aerospace systems. - Strong expertise with FEA tools (ANSYS, NASTRAN, HyperWorks, or similar). - Advanced proficiency in hand calculations for strength, stability, fatigue, and damage tolerance. - Significant experience with composite and lightweight aerospace structures. - Experience supporting structural testing, model correlation, and flight test validation. - Ability to lead complex technical workstreams and influence design decisions within a program. - Strong communication skills and experience presenting analysis findings to engineering leadership. - Ability to get a S//SAR level security clearance desired. Preferred qualifications: - Master’s or Ph.D. in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering. - Experience serving as a senior technical lead on aircraft or UAV structural programs. - Hands-on involvement in flight test support and certification efforts. - Experience contributing to internal analysis standards or best practices. - Familiarity with CAD, PLM, and enterprise engineering toolchains. ## #LI-MS2 #LE Full-time regular employee offer package: Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity Temporary employee offer package: Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment) Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information. ### Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. ## About Shield AI ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Shield AI builds AI pilots and autonomous systems for military aircraft to protect service members and civilians. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series G, venture-backed) - **Headquarters**: San Diego, California, United States - **Founded**: 2015 - **Founders**: Brandon Tseng, Ryan Tseng, Andrew Reiter ## Core Business - Primary industry/industries: Defense technology, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, aerospace - Target customers: U.S. Department of Defense, allied nations’ military forces (B2G / Government) - Mission or purpose statement: “Protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems.” ## Products & Services - **Hivemind**: A combat‑tested, modular autonomy stack for aircraft – self‑driving technology for drones, jets, and helicopters. Includes path‑planning, mapping, state‑estimation, computer vision, and reinforcement learning. Type: Software (AI/autonomy). - **V‑BAT**: A vertical take‑off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial system (UAS) designed for persistent ISR and strike missions. Type: Hardware (drone). - **X‑BAT**: An advanced unmanned aircraft system with extended endurance and payload capacity, built for multi‑domain operations. Type: Hardware (drone). - **Hivemind Vision Systems**: Computer‑vision and sensor‑fusion capabilities integrated into Hivemind for GPS‑denied environments. Type: Software + sensors. - **Hivemind Enterprise**: A deployable version of Hivemind for third‑party platforms and commercial applications. Type: Software. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (private company). Total funding raised: $3.6B (as of Series G in March 2026). - **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue ~$21.7M (estimated, private) | Total Funding $3.6B (including $2B Series G led by JP Morgan Chase and Advent International, March 2026). - **Notable Investors/Partners**: JP Morgan Chase, Advent International, Blackstone, Riot Ventures, SnowPoint Ventures, Disruptive (55+ investors total). Strategic partners include U.S. DoD and allied defense forces. - **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew 68.3% YoY to 1,283 employees; 338 active job postings (+57.2% YoY); operates in 5 countries (U.S., Australia, UAE, Norway, Ukraine); recent acquisitions of Sentient Vision Systems (2024), Heron Systems, MARTIN UAV. ## Competitive Advantages - **Combat‑proven autonomy**: Hivemind has been tested in live military operations, providing a first‑mover advantage in contested, GPS‑denied environments. - **Full‑stack integration**: Combines software (AI pilot), hardware (V‑BAT, X‑BAT), and sensor systems, creating a tightly integrated product ecosystem. - **Cross‑functional engineering culture**: Engineers work across AI, robotics, aerospace, and defense – not siloed – enabling rapid iteration and field deployment. - **Top talent pipeline**: Employees drawn from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Amazon, Anduril, and other leading defense/tech firms. ## Strategic Focus - **Scale AI pilots across all domains**: Extend Hivemind from aircraft to ships, satellites, and ground vehicles (“every military asset”). - **International expansion**: Growing presence in Australia, Europe, and Middle East via mission autonomy centers and partnerships. - **Deepen autonomy stack**: Continued investment in reinforcement learning, simulation, and computer vision to maintain leadership in contested‑environment autonomy. ## Why Work Here - **Mission‑driven work**: Directly contribute to protecting service members and civilians with cutting‑edge AI and robotics. - **Cross‑functional teams**: Engineers collaborate across disciplines (AI, hardware, software, systems) on real‑world defense challenges. - **Benefits**: Excellent medical coverage, mental health EAP, paid parental leave, pet insurance, flexible work hours, gym discounts (SD) / on‑site gym (DC), free parking, competitive compensation, 401k with match, stock benefits. - **Work policy**: Flexible work hours; some offices (e.g., San Diego HQ, Arlington, DC) have on‑site facilities. Remote/hybrid options available depending on role. - **Growth trajectory**: Rapidly scaling (68% headcount growth) with hundreds of open roles across engineering, operations, and program management. ## Sources 1. [shield.ai/about](https://shield.ai/about/) 2. [shield.ai/careers](https://shield.ai/careers/) 3. [LinkedIn – Shield AI](https://www.linkedin.com/company/shield-ai) 4. [CBInsights – Shield AI](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/shield-ai) 5. 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