Principal Thermal Engineer - Aircraft Avionics & Thermal Systems (R3930)

Shield AI · Seattle, Washington

  • Senior
  • Full-time
  • $250,000 – $350,000
  • Posted 2026-10-13
  • Confirmed live on 14 October 2026

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Job description

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:
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 Sr. Staff Thermal Engineer at Shield AI, you will lead 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 bridge technical disciplines with strong communication and collaboration skills and the ability to simplify and communicate complex problems. The engineer will be a key contributor in shaping designs, mentoring peers, and ensuring robust thermal solutions that meet mission-critical aerospace requirements.

What you'll do:
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Own thermal architecture, analysis, and design strategy for unmanned aerial vehicle avionics and aircraft-level thermal/fluid systems across programs.

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Lead cross-functional trade studies and technical decisions, balancing thermal performance with power, weight, volume, reliability, manufacturability, and aircraft integration constraints.

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Develop and validate analytical, numerical, and computational models for heat transfer and fluid flow using hand calculations and CFD tools such as FloEFD, and establish modeling standards and best practices.

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Define verification and validation strategies, guiding test planning, instrumentation, and data analysis to correlate models with experimental results and resolve critical performance risks.

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Serve as a technical authority in executive-level briefings, design reviews, and customer discussions, communicating complex findings and driving alignment on technical direction.

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Proactively identify and retire system-level risks, influence electrical and/or PCBA design direction, and drive resolution of complex interfaces across avionics, mechanical, and aircraft systems.

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Establish reusable thermal design methods and solutions, mentor engineers, and strengthen thermal engineering capabilities across the organization.

Required qualifications:
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B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline.

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Minimum 12 years of professional experience in avionics or electronics thermal engineering, including technical leadership of complex, multidisciplinary systems.

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Strong expertise in heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) and fluid mechanics, with demonstrated ability to apply this expertise to system architecture and critical design decisions.

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Deep understanding of active and passive cooling solutions and their integration at component, subsystem, and aircraft level.

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Deep understanding of thermal management design elements including TIMs, spreaders, heat sinks, vapor chambers, heat pipes, and fans.

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Proficiency with thermal analysis and CFD tools (e.g., ANSYS Icepak, FloEFD, STAR-CCM+), including experience establishing modeling approaches and evaluating analysis quality.

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Proficiency with CAD design tools such as NX, SolidWorks, or similar.

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Demonstrated experience applying first-principles reasoning to complex engineering problems and resolving ambiguous technical challenges with significant system-level impact.

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Proven track record of owning thermal architecture and delivering thermal management solutions from concept through integration, verification, and validation.

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Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of influencing cross-functional technical decisions and presenting to executive stakeholders.

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Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers, establish engineering best practices, and lead technical efforts across teams or programs.

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Proven ability to learn and adapt quickly to new tools, processes, and technical challenges in a fast paced, startup environment.

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Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired.

Preferred qualifications:
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M.S. or Ph.D. in a relevant engineering discipline.

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Experience leading high altitude aircraft avionics cooling and thermal design.

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Experience defining thermal architectures within aircraft integration constraints (power, weight, volume, maintainability, safety).

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Hands-on experience develop

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