Sr. 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.