Staff Engineer, Propulsion (R5899)

Location: Seattle, WA
Work type: On-site
Job type: Full-time
Salary: $175K – $263K / yr
Clearance: Clearance required
U.S. citizenship: Required
Posted: Sep 14, 2026
Department: RaptorX

About the role

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

We are seeking a highly motivated Staff Propulsion Engineer to support the design, development, integration, and fielding of a next-generation autonomous aircraft system. This position requires a balance of technical rigor, rapid decision-making, and hands-on engineering to efficiently transition concepts into operational capability. The ideal candidate is comfortable solving complex problems, taking ownership, working within an accelerated aircraft development environment, and is motivated by getting meaningful capability into the hands of operators quickly.

You will serve as a Responsible Engineer (RE) for critical propulsion hardware and capabilities, owning technical execution from requirements and architecture through procurement, integration, build, test, flight, and operational support. This role requires strong propulsion fundamentals, engineering judgment, and the ability to work across engine performance, hardware design, vehicle integration, test, and data analysis while serving as the focal point between suppliers and internal engineering teams.

What You'll Do

Serve as the Responsible Engineer for assigned propulsion hardware or capabilities from requirements through procurement, build, test, flight, and operational deployment.
Own engine performance and integration activities, including requirements, interfaces, operability, transient behavior, performance margins, and vehicle-level impacts.
Lead technical design reviews, supplier engagements, and hardware procurement while ensuring propulsion hardware meets performance, thermal, structural, reliability, and mission requirements.
Plan and execute propulsion testing, including instrumentation, procedures, data acquisition, performance validation, and test-to-flight readiness.
Analyze ground and flight data to understand engine behavior, quantify margin, identify anomalies, and drive design, control, or operational improvements.
Lead failure investigations and root cause efforts using analysis, inspection, testing, and data to develop effective corrective actions.
Work hands-on with design engineers, technicians, controls, fluids, airframe, manufacturing, supply chain, test, and flight teams to integrate and iterate propulsion hardware.
Mentor less experienced engineers and technicians and help strengthen engineering practices across the propulsion team.

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
7+ years of experience in aerospace propulsion development, integration, test, or flight operations, with demonstrated ownership of complex aerospace hardware.
Strong understanding of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, compressible flow, and gas turbine engine performance, including thrust generation, fuel consumption, operability, and transient response.
Hands-on experience with propulsion hardware integration, instrumentation, testing, flight support, and technical failure investigations.
Strong proficiency in Python or similar tools for engineering analysis, data reduction, and model correlation.
Demonstrated ability to independently drive ambiguous technical problems to measurable results in a fast-paced development environment.
U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with fighter-class, low-bypass turbofan, afterburning, or other high-performance gas turbine engines.
Experience working with engine OEMs or aerospace suppliers through procurement, development, qualification, and integration.
Experience with engine controls, performance tuning, transient validation, or propulsion and flight-control integration.
Familiarity with GFSSP, REFPROP, ANSYS, FEA, CFD, Siemens NX, or Teamcenter.
Background in rocket propulsion with experience transferable to high-performance propulsion design, integration, analysis, or test.
M.S. or Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.

#LI-SP

#LD

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.