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:
Shield AI is seeking an experienced V-BAT Technical Writer to support the development, release, and lifecycle management of aircraft system service bulletins. This is a hands-on technical publications role that works closely with engineering, quality, manufacturing, and field support teams to translate complex technical changes, safety concerns, inspection requirements, corrective actions, and operational limitations into clear, accurate, and actionable communications for operators and maintainers. The successful candidate may come from an A&P, military aviation maintenance, UAS maintenance or operations, avionics, flight-test, aerospace technician, or field-service background, with demonstrated ability to write and maintain technical publications.
The ideal candidate understands how aircraft are assembled, operated, inspected, troubleshot, repaired, and returned to service and is able to turn that knowledge into precise, usable, configuration-controlled documentation. The Technical Writer will be responsible for determining the appropriate scope and audience for service bulletins; identifying affected aircraft configurations, serial-number ranges, components, and software versions; documenting required inspections, modifications, repair actions, or operational restrictions; and ensuring released content aligns with approved engineering data and internal document-control processes.
What you'll do:
Partner closely with mechanical, electrical, software, systems, quality, and fleet support engineers to develop and maintain accurate, actionable service bulletins to communicate required inspections, corrective actions, modifications, operational limitations, maintenance actions, parts replacements, or configuration changes affecting aircraft safety, airworthiness, reliability, or maintainability.
Develop step-by-step maintenance and inspection procedures that are technically accurate, safe, complete, and usable in operational environments.
Observe and document maintenance, assembly, inspection, troubleshooting, ground-test, and flight-test activities to ensure procedures reflect actual work execution.
Develop or coordinate supporting technical visuals, including annotated photographs, exploded views, system diagrams, task flows, wiring or schematic excerpts, illustrations, and other graphics required for safe operation and maintenance.
Assess the documentation impact of engineering changes, software releases, flight-test findings, and operational feedback; coordinate reviews and issue timely configuration-controlled updates.
Determine and clearly document bulletin applicability, prerequisites, compliance requirements, labor estimates, required tools, consumables, replacement parts, and return-to-service requirements.
Write and maintain warnings, cautions, notes, limitations, and hazard statements that communicate risks associated with maintenance, aircraft configuration changes, energized systems, rotating components, fuel, batteries, and other applicable hazards.
Manage multiple service bulletin efforts across issue identification, engineering investigation, drafting, technical review, validation, release, revision, and field communication in a fast-paced environment.
Facilitate cross-functional reviews with engineering, quality, manufacturing, supply chain, flight operations, maintenance, training, and customer-support stakeholders.
Research and interpret engineering artifacts, including drawings, bills of material, engineering change orders, software release notes, wiring diagrams, maintenance procedures, inspection criteria, test reports, and configuration records.
Work with engineering, quality, flight test, manufacturing, and operations teams to identify missing, incomplete, conflicting, unsafe, or ambiguous technical content and drive resolution before release.
Maintain service bulletin templates, style guides, numbering conventions, revision histories, distribution records, and document-control processes.
Support rapid publication and revision of service bulletins in response to flight-test findings, field issues, reliability trends, supplier notifications, production escapes, and operational feedback.
Review field feedback and maintenance data to identify opportunities to improve bulletin clarity, reduce maintenance burden, and prevent recurring discrepancies.
Ensure published bulletins align with applicable technical publications, maintenance manuals, illustrated parts catalogs, operator manuals, and approved engineering configurations.
Maintain organized source material, technical references, revision histories, review comments, and approval records in accordance with company processes.
Maintain traceability between published technical content and the applicable hardware configuration, software version, engineering change, product effectivity, and release approval.
Fulfill additional responsibilities as required in support of V-BAT program objectives.
Required qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline, or equivalent relevant experience. Equivalent experience may include aircraft maintenance, military aviation, UAS maintenance or operations, avionics, flight test, aerospace field service, engineering technician work, or technical publications.
3+ years of or relevant experience in maintenance documentation, service engineering, or technical writing in aerospace, defense, aviation, unmanned aircraft systems, or other complex electromechanical systems.
Demonstrated ability to create, revise, or technically validate maintenance procedures, troubleshooting instructions, operator procedures, service bulletins, work instructions, test procedures, or other post-delivery documentation.
Experience developing maintenance instructions for aircraft systems, unmanned aircraft systems, avionics, propulsion systems, electrical systems, mechanical assemblies, or complex hardware/software products.
Practical working knowledge of aircraft or UAS systems, including the ability to understand and document mechanical, electrical, avionics, propulsion, payload, ground-support, and/or mission-system interfaces.
Ability to interpret engineering drawings, BOMs, CAD outputs, schematics, system architectures, requirements, interface control documents, test data, and engineering changes.
Proven ability to work directly with engineers, quality personnel, maintainers, flight-test teams, and other subject matter experts to obtain, validate, and document technical information.
Demonstrated ability to produce clear, sequential, user-focused procedures for inspection, removal, installation, modification, troubleshooting, functional testing, and return-to-service activities.
Exceptional writing, editing, and organizational skills, with a consistent focus on technical accuracy, clarity, completeness, and usability.
Ability to identify ambiguous, incomplete, conflicting, or potentially unsafe technical information and drive resolution with the responsible stakeholders.
Experience working in a configuration-managed product environment with controlled document revisions, technical reviews, and formal approvals.
Self-sufficient and proactive work style, with the ability to manage multiple high-priority publication efforts under compressed timelines.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver accurate work in a fast-paced development environment.
Preferred qualifications:
FAA Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certificate, military aviation maintenance specialty, or equivalent civilian or military aircraft maintenance experience.
Experience maintaining, troubleshooting, inspecting, or supporting fixed-wing aircraft, rotorcraft, UAS, or other autonomous or robotic platforms.
Experience supporting corrective-action, reliability, quality, safety, or fleet-support programs.
Familiarity with ATA iSpec 2200, S1000D, MIL-STD-40051, MIL-STD-38784, MIL-STD-1808, service technical-order/manual formats, or comparable technical-publication frameworks.
Background supporting developmental test, operational test, flight test, field sustainment, deployed operations, depot maintenance, or field-service operations.
Experience using PLM, document-control, change-control, configuration-management, requirements-management, or engineering-release systems.
Experience with Adobe FrameMaker, Arbortext, XML/DITA, Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, Visio, or comparable technical-authoring and illustration tools.
Experience developing or managing technical illustrations, wiring diagrams, and other maintenance graphics.
