Staff Engineer, Integration Advance Manufacturing - Ranger (R6505

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 cross-functional Staff Integration Advance Manufacturing Engineer to lead final system integration and production readiness activities for complex aerospace and defense platforms. This role is responsible for ensuring successful integration of electrical, mechanical, propulsion, and mission systems into complete operational vehicles and assemblies.

The ideal candidate has broad multidisciplinary manufacturing experience and thrives in highly integrated production environments.

What you'll do:

• Lead manufacturing integration activities across electrical, mechanical, propulsion, and vehicle systems

• Develop and optimize final assembly and integration processes

• Coordinate system-level builds, integration sequencing, and production flow planning

• Partner with design engineering to improve manufacturability, reliability, testability, and producibility

• Drive root cause investigations and corrective actions for integration and assembly issues

• Develop work instructions, quality standards, and inspection methods

• Lead DFM/DFA reviews and transition new products into manufacturing

• Support system integration, validation, and troubleshooting activities

• Define manufacturing standards, process controls, and acceptance criteria

• Support failure analysis and reliability improvement initiatives

• Collaborate with production, quality, supply chain, and test engineering teams

• Mentor junior manufacturing engineers

Required qualifications:

• 7+ years of manufacturing engineering or systems integration experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related technical field

• Experience in prototype manufacturing in a startup or rapid-growth environment.

• Experience with:

• Electrical and mechanical integration

• Production operations

• Manufacturing process development

• DFM/DFA principles

• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment and adapt to changing priorities.

• Knowledge of manufacturing process development and production scaling

• Strong understanding of DFM/DFA principles

• Experience with root cause analysis and corrective action methodologies

Preferred qualifications:

• Aerospace or defense integration experience

• Experience supporting autonomous systems, UAVs, or advanced mobility platforms

• Familiarity with low-rate initial production (LRIP) and production scaling

• Experience with factory integration and manufacturing line design

• Experience with ERP/MES systems and manufacturing data analysis

• Strong project management skills, including experience managing multiple priorities and deadlines

• Knowledge of quality standards, such as AS9100 or ISO 9001

• Proficiency in CAD software