Position: Power Electronics - Senior Staff Thermal Engineer
Job Description
As a Senior Staff Thermal Engineer at Shield AI, you will lead the design, analysis, and integration of aircraft avionics thermal management systems. You will be designing a high‑voltage, high‑power system using custom power electronics and energy storage. 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.
You 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
- Own thermal analysis and design efforts for unmanned aerial vehicle avionics, including custom power electronics
- Develop and validate analytical, numerical, and computational models for heat transfer and fluid flow using hand calculations and CFD tools such as FloEFD
- Provide technical leadership in trade studies, system architecture decisions, and risk assessments
- Lead cross‑functional teams designing power electronic circuits and environmental enclosures, providing design requirements that impact circuit part selection, board layout, material selection, and other design aspects
- Drive test planning, instrumentation, and data analysis to correlate models with experimental results
- Mentor junior engineers and guide cross‑disciplinary teams in applying thermal/fluid fundamentals
- Communicate technical findings clearly through executive‑level briefings, design reviews, and written reports
- Proactively identify risks, propose solutions, and influence electrical and/or PCBA design direction
Required Qualifications
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline
- Minimum 7 years of professional experience in avionics or electronics thermal engineering
- Strong expertise in heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) and fluid mechanics
- Deep understanding of active and passive cooling solutions and their integration at component and system level
- Deep understanding of thermal management design elements including TIMs, spreaders, heat sinks, vapor chambers, heat pipes, and fans
- Proficiency with thermal analysis and CFD tools (e.g., ANSYS Icepak, FloEFD, STAR‑CCM+)
- Proficiency with CAD design tools such as NX, Solid Works, or similar
- Demonstrated experience applying first‑principles reasoning to complex engineering problems
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a track record of leading technical discussions and presenting to stakeholders
- Proven ability to learn and adapt quickly to new tools, processes, and technical challenges in a fast‑paced, startup environment
$173,080 - $259,620 a year
Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.
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