Senior Fluid Systems Engineer

Shield AI

Frisco, TX

Salary: $112,439 - $168,659

Special Qualifications: Bachelor's Degree, aerospace fluid systems

We are a contractor to the U.S. Government; as a result, certain regulatory and contractual obligations often require that we employ only U.S. citizens, Legal Permanent Residents (Green Card holder). As a general practice, the company does not act as a sponsor for Visa applicants for candidates that need sponsorship either now or in the future.

Position Overview

We are seeking a Senior Fluid Systems Engineer to act as the Responsible Engineer (RE) for fuel and oil systems on an advanced VTOL unmanned vehicle. This role encompasses full lifecycle ownership, from early system definition and architecture through to build, test, flight, and operational support.

This position requires leadership in the development of flight-critical fluid systems, providing reliable performance in high-stakes environments, especially those involving variable angles of attack, rapid transients, and demanding concepts of operation. The role is hands-on, analysis-driven, and highly cross-functional—requiring close collaboration with propulsion, design, airframe, manufacturing, and flight test teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the Responsible Engineer for design, integration, and validation of fuel and oil systems.
• Define system requirements, interfaces, and performance objectives.
• Design and evaluate components for compressible and incompressible flows, factoring in transients, heat rejection, and operation in extreme environments.
• Address engineering challenges including level sensing, vapor pressure, cavitation, vapor ingestion, slosh management, and system pressurization.
• Lead and support component- and system-level ground and flight testing.
• Analyze test and flight data to validate system performance, improve margins, and refine designs.
• Collaborate with suppliers and internal teams to manage build-specific and instrumentation needs.
• Contribute to fault analysis, safety assessments, and operational reliability initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience designing, owning, or contributing to aerospace fluid systems.
• Strong knowledge of fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, and fluid system component design principles.
• Demonstrated experience in system integration and hardware testing.
• Proficiency with analysis tools (such as Python, GFSSP, REFPROP, or ANSYS).
• U.S. Citizenship, or the ability to comply with ITAR requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with UAVs, tactical aircraft, or jet/rocket propulsion systems.
• Knowledge of compressibility effects, slosh dynamics, and G-loading.
• Familiarity with instrumentation and test data analysis.
• Master’s degree in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering (or a related discipline).

HRU is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

How to Apply for This Job:

To apply for this position, please follow these steps: Apply for this job with your current resume. We’ll get back to you the same day with some feedback on your application. Next you’ll be invited to an online screening conversation so we can go over the job requirements together and you can ask questions. After this stage we’ll give you more feedback on your application and select the candidates to move forward in the process. Typically steps 1 to 4 takes less than 24 hours.

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