Senior Staff Engineer, Supply Chain - Mechanical Commodities (R6524)

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. 

About the role

Shield AI is looking for a highly skilled, motivated Supplier Development Engineer to lead the technical development, industrialization, and performance improvement of suppliers for critical mechanical commodities. These include precision-machined components, airframe structures, landing gear, composites and propulsion/engine hardware.

You'll be the main technical interface between suppliers and Shield AI's Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Program teams. You'll solve supplier problems that affect quality, on-time delivery, and scaling. You'll onboard suppliers to new designs and lead them through qualification and production ramp-up. This work is central to our mission of delivering affordable, autonomous mass at scale.

The role involves a lot of travel, up to 50%, including regular trips internationally to develop and build the supply base there.

What You'll Do:

• Supplier development and capability assessment

• Lead technical development and performance improvement for precision machining, airframe structures, landing gear, composites and propulsion/engine hardware.

• Assess supplier technical capabilities, manufacturing processes, capacity, quality systems, tooling, workforce, and readiness for prototype, development, qualification, and production programs.

• Run capability assessments, manufacturing readiness reviews, process audits, capacity analyses, and onsite evaluations.

• Work with Strategic Sourcing and Engineering to select suppliers that meet technical, quality, cost, schedule, and production-rate requirements.

• Identify, develop, and qualify new suppliers in Europe to grow the regional supply base.
  Industrialization and new product introduction

• Lead industrialization: manufacturing planning, tooling readiness, process validation, capacity planning, qualification, and production ramp-up.

• Support new product introductions, prototype builds, engineering changes, and rate increases, making sure suppliers meet all quality and delivery requirements during development.

• Review drawings, specifications, GD&T, bills of material, special-process requirements, and statements of work with suppliers.

• Lead design-for-manufacturability and design-for-assembly discussions to improve producibility, lower cost, and shorten lead times.

• Review and approve process flows, manufacturing and inspection plans, control plans, PFMEAs, work instructions, and qualification documentation.

• Coordinate First Article Inspection under AS9102 and resolve FAI discrepancies and manufacturing nonconformances.

Quality, problem solving, and process improvement

• Audit and embed in core supplier processes to find opportunities to improve cost, lead time, and quality.

• Lead onsite root-cause investigations into defects, dimensional nonconformances, process variation, tooling issues, material shortages, and production constraints.

• Use structured root-cause and corrective-action methods, including 8D, 5-Why, fishbone, and fault-tree analysis.

• Apply lean manufacturing, process controls, mistake-proofing, yield improvement, cycle-time reduction, and production-flow improvements.

• Give suppliers technical guidance on part specifications, manufacturing processes and standards, and quality measures.

• Ensure compliance with AS9100, AS9102, engineering, configuration-control, special-process, and customer requirements.

Performance monitoring, capacity, and risk

• Track and analyze supplier delivery, quality, and cost metrics, and put corrective action and continuous improvement plans in place as needed.

• Evaluate capacity against current and future demand using cycle times, yield, equipment availability, staffing, tooling, and material flow.

• Create and manage measurable plans for technical development, production readiness, capacity recovery, and corrective action.

• Lead onsite supplier recovery and report progress, risks, and corrective actions to program and executive leadership.

• Watch performance trends to spot recurring issues, systemic risks, and improvement opportunities.

• Identify and reduce supply chain risk, including developing alternate sources for sole-source, long-lead, and flight-critical components.

Leadership

• Mentor Supplier Development, Supplier Quality, and Supply Chain team members.

• Lead cross-functional technical teams and improvement initiatives with limited oversight

Preferred Qualifications:

• Active U.S. government SECRET clearance at hire.

• Experience with aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, advanced aerospace platforms, or defense programs.

• Direct supplier development for airframe structures, landing gear, turbine engines, propulsion, or other flight-critical mechanical hardware.

• Experience developing or managing suppliers in Europe.

• Industrialization and production ramp-up of newly designed aerospace components and systems.

• Complex machining, tight tolerances, special processes, and aerospace materials.

• Metallic and composite airframe experience, including tooling, layup, curing, bonding, machining, drilling, trimming, assembly, and inspection.

• Landing gear manufacturing knowledge: forgings, machining, heat treatment, surface finishing, hydraulics, and assembly.

• Engine and propulsion manufacturing knowledge: castings, forgings, rotating components, engine mounts, fuel-system hardware, and high-temperature materials.

• Experience leading supplier recovery on critical delivery, capacity, or quality issues.

• Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, value-stream mapping, process capability analysis, and production-flow optimization.

• Familiarity with NADCAP-controlled special processes, FAR, DFARS, ITAR, export compliance, and government contracting.

• Prototype and production experience under aggressive schedule and rate requirements.

• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer, Six Sigma Green or Black Belt, APICS/ASCM, or a similar professional certification.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, Aerospace, Chemical, Materials, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field.

• 10+ years in supplier development, manufacturing/process/mechanical engineering, supplier quality, quality engineering, or supply chain in aerospace, defense, or another highly regulated manufacturing environment.

• A track record of developing suppliers or production lines and resolving complex manufacturing, quality, capacity, or delivery problems.

• Experience in one or more of: precision machining, airframe/structural assemblies, metallic or composite structures, landing gear, engines/propulsion, engine mounts, complex mechanical assemblies, castings/forgings, or special-process/finished components.

• Strong knowledge of CNC machining, structural fabrication, forming, welding, composites, casting, forging, heat treatment, plating, coating, finishing, and mechanical assembly.

• Confident reading and interpreting complex drawings, GD&T, bills of material, material specifications, and manufacturing requirements.

• Hands-on experience leading structured root-cause and corrective-action investigations (8D, 5-Why, fishbone).

• Experience with process audits, capability assessments, capacity analyses, and readiness reviews.

• Experience with FAI and AS9102 documentation, plus working knowledge of AS9100 and aerospace supplier qualification.

• Knowledge of PFMEA, control plans, process capability, statistical process control, measurement systems, and inspection methods.

• Skilled with CAD (SolidWorks, NX, CATIA, or similar), Excel and data analysis, and PLM or ERP systems.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and data-driven decision-making skills.

• Excellent written and verbal communication, including explaining technical risks and recovery plans to suppliers and senior leadership.

• Able to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Able to travel up to 50%, domestic and international.

• Able to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance.

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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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