# Senior Staff Engineer, Flight Control Actuation Systems (RX) (R5999) at Shield AI

- Company: Shield AI
- What the company does: Autonomy for the world. Backed by a16z.
- Company website: https://shield.ai
- Type: Startups (AI role)
- Level: Senior
- Location: Dallas, Texas
- Work setup: On-site
- Pay: $174K to $261K base salary per year (USD)
- Posted: 2026-09-22
- Apply by: 2026-11-06
- Apply: https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/84ea353d-bd9b-4d1a-8e9c-3b4f31135a2f
- Page: https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/shield-ai-senior-staff-engineer-flight-control-actuation-systems-rx-r5999/

## About the role

As a Staff or Senior Staff Engineer (L4/L5), you will take full technical ownership of flight control actuation system design for a Group 5 UAV fighter aircraft. You will work from first principles to define requirements, resolve actuator and integration trades, and drive qualified flight-control actuation hardware from design through production support.

## What they're looking for

- Clearance required: US Citizens Only & Must have an Active Secret or higher clearance
- Experience: 8 to 15 years in flight control actuation system design on fixed-wing aircraft
- Education: B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline
- Hardware and Supplier Execution: Proven track record sourcing COTS/custom aerospace components, driving suppliers to schedule, and assembling benchtop or vehicle-level test setups
- Autonomy: Demonstrated ability to self-direct, prioritize technical tasks without oversight, and deliver functional hardware under tight timelines
- Dynamic Performance: Demonstrated experience with actuator dynamic performance analysis, including bandwidth, response, stability margins, failure mode analysis, and redundancy analysis

Tags: X-BAT Engineering - Mechanical