Staff Engineer, Mass Properties - Ranger (R6353)

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:

As a Mass Properties Engineer for Ranger, you will play a critical role in the development and optimization of autonomous aircraft systems, ensuring precise mass properties tracking and analysis throughout the product lifecycle. Your expertise will support aircraft performance trade studies, loads development, structural analysis, cost analysis, and mission effectiveness evaluations. This role is essential in driving the success of Shield AI’s next-gen autonomous vehicles, ensuring they meet stringent weight, balance, and efficiency requirements.

What you'll do:

• Lead and participate in system-level trade studies to optimize payload, propulsion, power distribution, thermal management, and flight dynamics.
• Conduct mass properties estimation for early-stage designs, prototyping, and full-scale production.
• Estimate, calculate, and verify weight, center of gravity, and inertia properties for components, assemblies, and complete aircraft systems.
• Develop and refine analysis tools and methods for mass properties estimation and optimization.
• Generate and maintain mass properties reports for engineering, manufacturing, and leadership teams.
• Implement and execute mass properties verification tests to validate design assumptions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including aerodynamics, structures, avionics, propulsion, and manufacturing to ensure mass properties are controlled throughout development.
• Maintain and update the mass properties database to track weight trends across vehicle programs.

Required qualifications:

• B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Material Science/Engineering, or related field.
• 3+ years of experience in mass properties analysis within aerospace, defense, or high-tech vehicle development.
• Proficiency in CAD software (SolidWorks, Siemens NX, or similar).
• Familiarity with mass properties industry standards (ATA100, SAWE RP A-7, RP 7, RP 8, or predecessors).
• Experience defining mass properties requirements and ensuring compliance across design iterations.
• Experience developing and maintaining a Mass Properties Management and Control Plan.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.