a16z Propulsion Engineer, Fleet Support (R5005)
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 seeking a Senior Propulsion Engineer to serve as the propulsion SME for the V-BAT Fleet Support team. In this role, you will be the customer-facing engineering lead for escalated propulsion issues across the fielded fleet. You will act as the bridge between Fleet Support and the core propulsion, vehicle, manufacturing, and quality engineering teams to diagnose issues, drive root cause, and improve fleet reliability.
This role is ideal for an engineer who combines strong propulsion fundamentals with practical field troubleshooting experience and a customer-first mindset.
What you'll do:
- Serve as the propulsion SME for Fleet Support and the primary engineering point of contact for propulsion-related escalations.
- Diagnose and resolve engine performance issues, including hard starts, unstable operation, power loss, thermal excursions, endurance degradation, and intermittent behavior.
- Troubleshoot engine mechanical and hardware issues, including vibration, wear, leaks, mounting or interface issues, actuator concerns, and component failures.
- Investigate fuel and oil system issues, including pressure, flow, filtration, contamination, venting, priming, lubrication, and thermal-management problems.
- Analyze flight data, maintenance records, teardown findings, and field reports to identify failure modes and define corrective actions.
- Develop troubleshooting procedures, inspection criteria, repair guidance, and return-to-service recommendations for Fleet Support personnel and customers.
- Partner with propulsion, air vehicle, quality, manufacturing, and supplier teams to drive permanent corrective actions and reliability improvements.
- Capture recurring fleet issues and translate them into engineering recommendations, service actions, and long-term design improvements.
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline.
- 6+ years of experience in aircraft, rotorcraft, unmanned aircraft system, or propulsion engineering.
- Strong hands-on experience with engine systems, fuel systems, oil systems, thermal behavior, vibration, and mechanical root-cause analysis.
- Experience troubleshooting fielded hardware and working from ambiguous or incomplete failure reports.
- Ability to analyze technical data from flight, test, maintenance, and inspection activities.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills in cross-functional and customer-facing environments.
- Ability to possess a Secret DoD security clearance as required by customers
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience with heavy-fuel or small-aircraft propulsion systems.
- Experience supporting deployed, expeditionary, or maritime systems.
- Experience with corrective action processes, reliability improvement, or supplier-quality coordination.
- Comfort working in fast-paced field environments and supporting customer-site troubleshooting.
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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.