Staff Thermal Engineer - Aircraft Avionics & Thermal Systems (r3930)

Staff Thermal Engineer - Aircraft Avionics & Thermal Systems

Are you a passionate and innovative thermal engineer looking to help develop state of the art AI and aircraft products? Are you eager to make a positive difference in the world? Do you want to work alongside mission-driven and values-focused teammates? Shield AI is just the place for you!

As a Staff Thermal Engineer at Shield AI, you will support the design, analysis, and integration of aircraft avionics thermal management systems, with opportunities to flex into aircraft-level thermal and fluid systems.

This role is best suited for an engineer who thrives on first-principles problem solving, is comfortable with ambiguous, open-ended challenges, and can collaborate across technical disciplines with clear communication and strong teamwork skills. You will play a key role in developing robust thermal solutions that meet mission-critical aerospace requirements.

What You'll Do:

• Contribute to thermal analysis and design efforts for unmanned aerial vehicle avionics and thermal/fluid systems.
• Build and validate analytical, numerical, and computational models for heat transfer and fluid flow using hand calculations and CFD tools such as FloEFD.
• Participate in trade studies, system architecture reviews, and risk assessments.
• Support test planning, instrumentation, and data analysis to correlate models with experimental results.
• Collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams in applying thermal/fluid fundamentals.
• Communicate technical findings through design reviews, reports, and team discussions.
• Proactively identify technical issues and propose solutions in coordination with senior engineers.

Required Qualifications:

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline.
• Minimum 5 years of professional experience in avionics or electronics thermal engineering.
• Strong knowledge of heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) and fluid mechanics.
• Familiarity with thermal management design elements including TIMs, spreaders, heat sinks, vapor chambers, heat pipes, and fans.
• Proficiency with thermal analysis and CFD tools (e.g., ANSYS Icepak, FloEFD, STAR-CCM+).
• Proficiency with CAD design tools such as NX, SolidWorks, or similar.
• Ability to apply first-principles reasoning to engineering problems.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• M.S. in a relevant engineering discipline.
• Experience with aircraft avionics cooling and thermal design.
• Familiarity with aircraft integration constraints (power, weight, volume, maintainability, safety).
• Hands-on experience with thermal and fluid system testing and validation.
• Knowledge of materials and manufacturing methods relevant to thermal management.

$136,730 - $205,096 a year

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.