Staff Engineer, Ground Vehicle Advance Manufacturing (R5186) - Shield AI

Founded in 2015, 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 and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft. 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.

We are seeking a Staff Ground Vehicle Advance uyoiypoiManufacturing Engineer to support the development and production of advanced ground mobility and vehicle systems. This role focuses on mechanical and integrated systems including chassis, suspension, braking, hydraulics, pneumatics, and mobility platforms.

The ideal candidate has strong experience in automotive, heavy vehicle, or defense vehicle manufacturing environments and is comfortable supporting both prototype and production operations.

Lead manufacturing engineering activities for vehicle and mobility systems

Develop and optimize manufacturing processes, tooling, work instructions, and production flows for:

Chassis and structural assemblies

Suspension and braking systems

Wheels, axles, and driveline components

Hydraulic and pneumatic systems

Trailer and mobility platforms

Support vehicle integration, testing, and production readiness activities

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

Drive root cause investigations and corrective actions for manufacturing issues

Develop work instructions, quality standards, and inspection methods

Support supplier qualification, process validation, and production readiness reviews

Lead DFM/DFA reviews and transition new products into manufacturing

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

7+ years of manufacturing engineering experience in automotive, mobility, heavy equipment, or defense vehicle systems

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Automotive Engineering, or related field

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

Experience with:

Vehicle integration and assembly

Hydraulics and pneumatics

Chassis and braking systems

Mechanical production systems

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