Principal Thermal Engineer - Aircraft Avionics & Thermal Systems (R3930)
Shield AI
What you'll do:
- Lead thermal analysis and design efforts for unmanned aerial vehicle avionics and aircraft-level thermal/fluid systems.
- Architect and validate analytical, numerical, and computational models for heat transfer and fluid flow using hand calculations and CFD tools such as FloEFD.
- Provide leadership in trade studies, system architecture decisions, and technical risk assessments.
- Define and oversee test planning, instrumentation, and data analysis to correlate models with experimental results.
- Mentor and guide cross-disciplinary teams in applying thermal/fluid fundamentals.
- Communicate technical findings through executive-level briefings, design reviews, and technical reports.
- Proactively identify program risks, propose solutions, and influence avionics and PCBA design direction.
- Represent Shield AI in technical reviews, proposals, and customer interactions.
Required qualifications:
- B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related discipline.
- Minimum 12 years of professional experience in avionics or electronics thermal engineering.
- Deep expertise in heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation) and fluid mechanics.
- Advanced understanding of active and passive cooling solutions and their integration at the component and system level.
- Advanced knowledge 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, SolidWorks, or similar.
- Demonstrated ability to apply first-principles reasoning to complex engineering problems.
- Strong communication and leadership skills, with experience presenting to executives and customers.
Preferred qualifications:
- M.S. or Ph.D. in a relevant engineering discipline.
- Extensive experience with high-altitude aircraft avionics cooling and thermal design.
- Familiarity with aircraft integration constraints (power, weight, volume, maintainability, safety).
- Hands-on experience with thermal and fluid system testing, instrumentation, and validation.
- Knowledge of materials and manufacturing methods relevant to aerospace thermal management.
- Experience guiding trade studies, proposals, and customer interactions in aerospace or defense programs.
- Background in multi-disciplinary system integration, spanning avionics, fluid systems, and systems engineering.