Staff Engineer, Electrical Failure Analysis (R5616)

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 pioneering AI pilots for aircraft that protect service members and civilians—pushing the boundaries of autonomous flight. V-BAT is designed for deployment in the most demanding, high-stakes environments.

We are looking for a failure analysis engineer to join our team, focused on the design, integration and troubleshooting of electronics systems critical to our aircraft. This role is perfect for an engineer with a solid foundation in power systems, embedded systems who is eager to grow, own challenging projects, and see their work move rapidly from concept to flight. If you thrive in fast-paced environments, enjoy solving complex problems, and want to help build the future of autonomous aviation, we want to hear from you.

What you'll do

• Lead failure analysis investigations for avionics hardware, including: PCBAs (digital, analog, power, mixed-signal), harnesses, connectors, and interconnects
• Perform root cause analysis (RCA) using structured methodologies (8D, 5-Why, Fishbone, Fault Tree, etc.)
• Conduct and/or oversee electrical, mechanical, and environmental failure analysis
• Collaborate with design engineers to identify design vulnerabilities, manufacturing and suppliers on process-related issues
• Work closely with cross-functional teams (reliability, mechanical, embedded, software, production, supply chain, etc.)
• Drive design, process, and supplier corrective actions to closure
• Author clear, data-driven failure analysis reports and present findings to technical and program leadership
• Mentor junior engineers and help establish best practices for failure analysis and reliability

Required qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering; or equivalent work experience

You have 8+ years of experience in failure analysis, reliability, or hardware debug for aerospace, defense, or high-reliability electronics

Strong technical fundamentals

Experienced with cross-sectioning, microscopy, X-ray, and other FA techniques

Strong hands-on experience with PCBA failure mechanisms (solder joints, vias, components, PCB materials), Harnesses, connectors, crimping, shielding, and interconnect reliability

Demonstrated track record of extreme ownership, working hard, and delivering outstanding outcomes

A track record of successfully delivery of products and solutions, overcome obstacles, and deliver high-quality solutions to meet project deadlines and exceed expectations in a fast-paced environment

Proactively identify opportunities for improvement within organization, demonstrating initiative to propose and implement

innovative solutions that enhance efficiency, quality, and overall project success and aircraft reliability

Ability to independently drive investigations from symptom to root cause