Principal Engineer, Electrical (R5909)

Shield AI

San Diego, California$210,000 - $310,000Full-timePosted 4h ago

Get more Electrical Engineering openings

A short daily email when similar roles appear in San Diego. No account needed.

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 LinkedInXInstagram, and YouTube. 

Job Description:

Shield AI is pioneering AI pilots for aircraft that protect service members and civilians - pushing the boundaries of autonomous flight. V-BAT is designed for deployment in the most demanding, high-stakes environments. 

We are looking for an Electrical Engineer to join our team, focused on the design, integration and troubleshooting of electronics systems critical to our aircraft. This role is perfect for an engineer with a solid foundation in power, embedded and control systems who is eager to grow, own challenging projects, and see their work move rapidly from concept to flight. If you thrive in fast-paced environments, enjoy solving complex problems, and want to help build the future of autonomous aviation, we want to hear from you.

What you'll do:

  • Own flight critical avionics designs for V-BAT
  • Own circuit and sub-system design for V-BAT and its support equipment. This includes complex system architectures utilizing custom circuitry (power management, analog, digital, servos, microcontrollers, sensors, radios, etc.)  
  • Lead others to execute design, verification, and manufacturing deployment
  • Provide mentorship and technical feedback to others on the power team and cross-functionally
  • Harden the designs for harsh environments such as shock/vibe, high reliability, radiation, and high-altitude
  • Full-cycle hardware development: Own the entire flow - concept, modeling, worst case analysis, schematic capture, simulation, prototyping, design reiteration for improving design maturity, testing and validation
  • PCB ownership: Drive PCB layout and design with ECAD engineers, optimizing for power density, EMI, thermal, and manufacturability
  • Design for Safety, Manufacturability and Reliability: Design robust systems keeping in mind best practices for safety, manufacturing and reliability
  • Cross-functional collaboration: Work closely with Mechanical, CAD, Embedded, Software, Supply Chain, Test Automation, Production and various aircraft teams throughout the product lifecycle
  • Design review leadership: Lead and contribute to cross-functional reviews ensuring robust, high-integrity engineering decisions. Mentor junior engineers that support your design
  • Program execution: Manage project timelines, deliverables, and technical milestones to drive on-time, high-quality outcomes
  • Help define technical product requirements and features 
  • Required qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering; or equivalent work experience 
  • You have 10+ years of industry experience as an Electrical Engineer 
  • Strong technical fundamentals
  • You are experienced with: circuit design, schematic capture, component selection, circuit testing, and debugging
  • You have a demonstrated record of working hard, being a trustworthy teammate, holding yourself and others to high standards, and being kind to others
  • Proactively identify opportunities for improvement within hardware development projects, demonstrating initiative to propose and implement innovative solutions that enhance efficiency, quality, and overall project success and aircraft reliability 
  • #LI-JW4
    #LF

    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.
     
    ###
     
    Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know. 

    The average job posting receives 250 applications.

    Stand out by tailoring your resume to this specific role. Our AI resume builder highlights the skills and experience that matter most to this employer.

    More electrical engineering roles in San Diego

    Frequently asked questions

    Who is hiring for Principal Engineer, Electrical (R5909) at Shield AI?+
    Shield AI is actively hiring for this Principal Engineer, Electrical (R5909) role. Click "Apply Now" to submit your application directly on Shield AI's careers page — Careeronaut doesn't charge employers or candidates for referrals.
    When was this Principal Engineer, Electrical (R5909) role posted?+
    This listing was first posted on 2026-09-09. We pull the latest copy from the source feed daily, and any role that's taken down gets removed from Careeronaut within seven days so you don't waste time on stale listings.
    How should I apply to this Principal Engineer, Electrical (R5909) role?+
    Start by tailoring your resume to the posting — most applicants send generic CVs and the first filter recruiters use is keyword relevance. Careeronaut's AI does this automatically: paste the job description, get a matched resume in under a minute, and download as PDF or DOCX.
    Where can I find more Electrical Engineering jobs in San Diego?+
    Browse all open electrical engineering roles in San Diego on the listing pages linked below. You can filter by salary, remote-friendly, and posting date.