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Shield AI

Staff Engineer, Propulsion - Mechanical Design (R5389)

Location

Dallas, TX

Wage

$140,000 – $210,000/yr

Employment Type

Full-time

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Posted on September 1, 2026

Job Description

Overview

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company focused on protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. They are seeking a Staff Mechanical Design & Analysis Engineer to join the V-BAT propulsion engineering team, responsible for mechanical design and analysis from concept through production release.

Responsibilities

  • Design propulsion system components and subsystems for V-BAT.
  • Perform mechanical analysis to guide and validate designs.
  • Own mechanical design trades between mass, stiffness, strength, cost, manufacturability, serviceability, and reliability.
  • Create and maintain high-quality CAD models and drawing packages.
  • Route and retain wire harnesses and fluid systems.
  • Own engineering change orders for components.
  • Support configuration management for the propulsion system.
  • Coordinate design releases with various engineering teams.
  • Own and execute verification and validation test campaigns.
  • Analyze test data to determine if components meet requirements.
  • Investigate failures and drive corrective actions.

Requirements

  • B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering.
  • 5+ years of professional mechanical design experience.
  • Strong proficiency with 3D CAD modeling and detailed mechanical design.
  • Experience developing production-ready engineering drawings.
  • Understanding of GD&T and manufacturing processes.
  • Experience owning components through the full product lifecycle.
  • Experience supporting prototype builds, testing, and design iteration.
  • Strong cross-functional communication and project coordination skills.
  • Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced hardware development environment.
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How this job compares in Dallas, TX

Pay in context

At roughly $84/hr, this posting sits about 140% above the $35/hr median for welding jobs in Dallas, TX — toward the top of a $30–$43/hr middle band drawn from 48 postings with published pay. Put another way, it pays more than about 96% of the comparable postings we have wage data for. Pay that far above local median usually comes attached to something: a harder cert requirement, travel, night shift, or overtime that isn't really optional. Worth establishing which before you accept.

The local market in Dallas, TX

We're tracking 124 other active welding openings in Dallas, TX right now, from 90 different employers. 55 of them were added in the last week. Across Texas as a whole we're tracking 1,339 other active welding openings from 721 employers. A metro this active generally means you have real leverage — employers here are competing for the same welders. Browse every welding job in Dallas, or widen the search to Texas.

Shield AI currently has 5 other openings live in Texas, which is usually a sign of either steady growth or steady turnover — worth asking which in the interview.

The most active employers in Texas at the moment, by number of open welding reqs, are Welding Shop in Houston, TX (27), Zachry Group (22), and Austin Industries (16). Volume like that usually means either a genuine expansion or a staffing agency working several client sites — worth knowing which before you apply.

Within Texas, the best-paying metros we track by median hourly rate are Pasadena at $40/hr, Arlington at $39/hr, and Midlothian at $38/hr. If you can relocate or commute, that spread is worth factoring in.

Similar openings near Dallas, TX

Pay figures are medians computed from live postings in the Welding Pros index, not from survey data, and they move as employers post. Staff Engineer, Propulsion - Mechanical Design (R5389) figures were last recalculated when this page was built.