Director, Engineering Excellence & Design Standards

Open 59d

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 . Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

Job Description:

Shield AI is building the world’s best AI pilot to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. As we scale both our proven VBAT platform and develop next-generation systems like XBAT, we are investing in how we build—not just what we build.

We are seeking a senior technical leader to define and operationalize engineering design standards across the company. This position is focused on establishing engineering excellence—driving consistency, rigor, and scalability across design, analysis, certification, CAD, documentation, and configuration management.

This is a high-impact individual contributor role with broad scope across multiple engineering disciplines, responsible for raising the bar on engineering quality without slowing down execution.

What you'll do:

Establish and own engineering design standards across programs, including XBAT and VBAT

Define and standardize best practices for aerospace design, analysis workflows, and system-level engineering rigor

Develop standards for CAD usage, drawing quality, standard notes, release processes, and engineering documentation

Manufacturing & supply chain handoff including EBOM and MBOM creation along with driving part demand

Build and mature an engineering excellence framework that scales with the company

Partner with engineering leadership to align teams on consistent ways of working

Ensure standards are practical, accessible, and consistently applied across teams

Influence design decisions and engineering processes across disciplines without becoming a bottleneck

Support both near-term program execution and long-term scalability of engineering processes

Drive improvements in configuration management, documentation quality, and design consistency

Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired.

Required qualifications:

10+ years of experience in aerospace or high-performance hardware design environments

Deep experience working within organizations that maintain strong engineering standards and design rigor

Broad technical background across multiple engineering domains (mechanical, aerospace, systems, etc.)

Experience defining or applying design standards, documentation practices, and configuration management systems

Familiarity with industry standards such as MIL-STD-810, DO-160, and ASME Y14.5 (GD&T)

Demonstrated ability to influence senior engineers and drive alignment across teams

Strong track record of improving engineering quality, consistency, and scalability

Excellent communication skills with the ability to clearly articulate standards and expectations across technical audiences

#LI-JM2

#LF

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.

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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.

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What this application asks

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Which location are you applying for?, Resume/CV, Full name, Email, Phone, Current location, Current company, LinkedIn URL, Twitter URL, GitHub URL, Portfolio URL, Other website

Are you authorized to work in the United States? choose one
Will you require sponsorship for employment now or in the future? choose one
If yes, what type of sponsorship? written answer · optional
This position may require access to information and technology that is subject to export controls, such as EAR. Are you any of the following? choose one
If you selected "A protected Individual" OR "Other" to the above question, please explain further. written answer · optional
Shield AI provides technology, services, and support to the United States military and allied forces with their various missions. If selected for employment with Shield AI, your contributions will directly relate to and/or support these missions. Are there any reasons why you would not be able to fully contribute in support of the U.S. military and allied forces? choose one
(Optional) If you selected other or would like to expand on the above, feel free to do so below: written answer · optional
How did you hear about us? choose one
If "Industry Conference" or "Other," please provide more details: written answer · optional
Please state your full legal name:
Are you a transitioning service member? choose one
If yes, what partnership program are you working with? choose one · optional
If other, please provide further details written answer · optional
When are you available to start your fellowship? written answer · optional
When are you available for full time work? written answer · optional
What full time job(s) are you applying for? written answer
Are you local to or willing to relocate? choose one · optional
What office(s) would you be willing to relocate to? (Select all that apply) yes / no · optional
If you selected international, what location(s)? written answer · optional
Do you have, or are you able to obtain, a S/SAR clearance? choose one · optional

Job Description:

What you'll do:

Required qualifications:

What this application asks

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