LIVE FEEDVIEWS 1UTC —
POSTING ACTIVE · REQ-DE8C2 · FY26.Q3
Staff Engineer, Quality Assurance (R5358)
[ COMPENSATION RANGE · ANNUAL · BASE ]
$110,000 – $160,000USD
MIDPOINT
$135,000
SPREAD
$50,000
LEVEL
LEAD
§ 01
OVERVIEW
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.
§ 02
JOB DESCRIPTION:
Shield AI is seeking a Quality Engineer to support the development, inspection, execution, and continuous improvement of the X-BAT program. This fast-paced role is responsible for ensuring weapons system hardware, assemblies, suppliers, manufacturing processes, test processes, and final products meet engineering requirements and quality standards.
You will work closely with test operations, manufacturing, engineering, supply chain, program management, and suppliers to identify quality risks, resolve nonconformances, improve processes, and deliver reliable mission critical operations.
§ 03
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Support quality planning, inspections, readiness, and acceptance activities for the weapons system and subsystems
- Review engineering drawings, specifications, work instructions, inspection plans, and acceptance criteria
- Develop and maintain quality documentation, including inspection plans, control plans, first article inspections, nonconformance reports, corrective actions, and quality records
- Lead root cause analysis and corrective/preventive action efforts for manufacturing defects, supplier issues, test failures, process/procedure failures, and any other quality concerns
- Support material review board activities, disposition of nonconforming material, and implementation of containment actions
- Work with manufacturing and engineering teams to build, process capability, and product reliability
- Analyze quality data, defect trends, performance, and escape rates to identify improvement opportunities
- Participate in supplier quality activities, including issue resolution, corrective actions, and quality flow-down requirements
- Ensure compliance with applicable aerospace, defense, customer, and internal quality requirements
- Promote a culture of safety, compliance, accountability, and continuous improvement
§ 04
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Bachelor’s degree in science, Engineering, Technology, and Math (STEM), Quality Engineering or related field, or similar experience levels supporting developmental test operations.
- 5-10 years of experience with developmental and/or operational ground and flight test, unmanned/manned aircraft systems, aircraft integration, or aerospace systems engineering
- Experience in quality engineering, ground and flight test execution, maintenance, manufacturing engineering, supplier quality, production support, or aerospace hardware
- Ability to interpret engineering drawings, technical specifications, bills of materials, work instructions, and inspection requirements
- Proven experience with nonconformance management, root cause analysis, corrective action, trend analysis, and quality documentation
- Familiarity with inspection methods, measurement tools, and manufacturing processes used in aerospace or complex hardware integration and development test environments
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills
- Ability to work cross-functionally with engineering, manufacturing, test operations, supply chain, and program leadership
- Maintains liaison with manufacturing, engineering, material management, suppliers to resolve quality problems
- Detail-oriented approach with a strong commitment to product quality and process discipline
- Ability to work in a fast-paced ground and flight test environment
- Willingness to travel and work outdoors at test ranges and other program requirements
- Overtime and weekend coverage as required
§ 05
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- 10+ years of experience with developmental and/or operational ground and flight test, unmanned aircraft systems, aircraft integration, or aerospace systems engineering
- Knowledge of AS9100, ISO9001, FAA, DoW, and other aerospace and defense quality standards
- Experience with first acritical inspections
- Experience supporting protype aircraft, weapon systems, or mission critical aerospace systems
- Familiarity with configuration management, drawing release processes, and engineering change processes
- Experience using quality tools such as 8D, 5 Why’s, Fishbone diagrams, FMEA, control plans, or process capability analysis
- Certified Quality Engineer, Six Sigma Green/Black Belt, or related certification
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Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
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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.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
- How much does the Staff Engineer, Quality Assurance (R5358) at Shield AI pay?
- The posting lists a range of $110K–$160K per year. Ranges reflect what Shield AI publicly declared on the source posting.
- Where is this Staff Engineer, Quality Assurance (R5358) role based?
- The role is based in Wichita Metro Area.
- What experience does Shield AI expect for this role?
- The posting is tagged as a lead-level role, typically 7+ years of experience. Check the requirements section for specifics.
- Where is Shield AI headquartered?
- Shield AI is headquartered in San Diego, USA.
- How was this posting sourced?
- This role was pulled directly from Shield AI's Lever careers site. Apply links open in the employer's own ATS — no reposts or aggregator middleware.
[ APPLICATION ROUTE ]LEVER · External ATS
Apply links open in the employer's official ATS. Always verify recruitment messages on the company's careers page before sharing personal information.
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