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Senior Staff Engineer, Actuation Systems Architecture & Design (RX) (R6003)

Shield AI· RaptorX – RaptorX Engineering - Mechanical
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Hybrid (Dallas, TX / Washington, DC)$173.8k - $260.6kFull Time EmployeePosted 4w ago

About the role

Senior Staff Engineer responsible for actuation systems architecture, design, and integration for a Group 5 UAV fighter aircraft, including requirements definition, design decisions, verification, and production maturation in a fast-paced aircraft development environment.

Responsibilities

  • Actuation System Ownership: Lead the architecture, requirements definition, and detailed design of actuation systems across bay doors and other airframe mechanisms.
  • Actuator and Mechanism Design: Own actuator selection and sizing, sequencing, redundancy management, failure mode analysis, and interfaces with the mechanisms they actuate.
  • Vehicle Mechanism Integration: Drive integration of actuation systems with control surfaces, weapons bay doors, and other vehicle mechanisms, including timing, load, sealing, and structural interface requirements.
  • Power and Thermal Integration: Own actuator power architecture and load-analysis interfaces with EPS, and heat-generation and heat-rejection interfaces with thermal management.
  • Requirements and Verification: Define, allocate, and own verification traceability for actuation system requirements with FCAS, EPS, thermal management, structures, and propulsion IPTs.
  • Targeted Technical Decisions: Perform focused technology assessments when needed to resolve specific actuation design and integration risks.
  • Qualification and Hardware Delivery: Define and execute qualification test plans per MIL-STD-810, using results to mature the design into production-ready hardware and support MIL-HDBK-516 Airworthiness Certification.
  • Program Execution: Lead design-maturity and qualification-status reviews at SRR, PDR, and CDR.

Qualifications

  • Clearance required: US Citizens Only & Must have an Active Secret or higher clearance.
  • Experience: 8 to 15 years in aircraft actuation systems design, with hands-on depth in electric actuation, including EMA or EHA, or centralized hydraulics and working knowledge of the other.
  • Education: B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
  • Hardware and Supplier Execution: Proven track record sourcing COTS/custom aerospace components, driving suppliers to schedule, and assembling benchtop or vehicle-level test setups.
  • Autonomy: Demonstrated ability to self-direct, prioritize technical tasks without oversight, and deliver functional hardware under tight timelines.
  • Actuation Design Fundamentals: Demonstrated depth in actuator sizing, power and thermal interfaces, FMEA, redundancy management, and mechanical mechanism integration.
  • Systems Integration: Demonstrated experience leading multi-disciplinary actuation design and integration efforts with electrical power, thermal management, structures, and adjacent mechanical systems stakeholders.
  • Standards and Reviews: Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-516 and MIL-STD-810 as applied to actuation and mechanical systems, and experience supporting SRR, PDR, and CDR on a DoD or fighter-class aircraft program.

Skills

Required:Actuation system designSystems integrationMIL-HDBK-516 / MIL-STD-810

Benefits

  • Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
  • 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.
Last updated Oct 23, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

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