Staff Field Services Engineer, Structures (R5259)
Application analysis
Staff Field Services Engineer, Structures (R5259) at Shield AI is a forward deployed defense / aerospace role for engineers who want customer-facing technical work with real deployment ownership.
Reading this role
This Technical customer-facing role role centers on hands-on work with customers to ship and adopt technical products. Key signals from the listing: Senior scope.
About Shield AI
Defense technology companies combine startup velocity with government deployment constraints and security requirements. The role is anchored in Dallas, Texas, so expect on-site customer work in that region.
Signals in the listing
Stand out for Staff Field Services Engineer, Structures (R5259)
- Lead your application with one paragraph tying Staff Field Services Engineer, Structures (R5259) to a specific customer or deployment you owned — Shield AI hires for shipped outcomes, not tool lists.
- Mirror language from the job description in your examples — if they emphasize deployment, use deployment stories; if integration, use integration stories.
- Include a short “how I work with customers” section in your cover note: communication cadence, escalation instincts, and how you handle ambiguity.
- This role is tied to Dallas, Texas — mention willingness to work on-site with customers and any existing ties to that market (clients, partners, or domain knowledge).
Stand out at Shield AI
- Demonstrate clearance readiness with a concrete example — Shield AI will probe for specifics, not buzzwords.
- Demonstrate operational rigor with a concrete example — Shield AI will probe for specifics, not buzzwords.
- Highlight classified or regulated environment experience and comfort with on-site customer work.
- Read recent engineering blog posts, product launches, and customer stories on shield.ai — reference one explicitly in your outreach to show genuine interest.
Tailored from this listing’s title, company, and description. Always verify requirements on the company careers page before applying.
Role description
Founded in 2015, 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 and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft. 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. Job Description: The Structures Engineer is a senior individual contributor responsible for providing technical ownership of V-BAT airframe, structural, mechanical, and repair-related sustainment issues across the fielded fleet. This role evaluates structural damage, wear, cracking, deformation, fatigue concerns, impact damage, hard landing effects, mishap findings, and recurring mechanical issues to determine appropriate repair, disposition, inspection, retrofit, or escalation paths. The Structures Engineer ensures structural repairs, service guidance, and configuration changes are technically sound, properly documented, and coordinated through the appropriate engineering and configuration control processes. This role partners closely with Fleet Support, Sustainment Engineering, Product Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing Engineering, the Material Review Board, Configuration Management, and Operations to support safe, timely, and practical sustainment decisions that protect fleet readiness, customer support, and long-term aircraft serviceability. The Structures Engineer must balance engineering rigor with field support urgency, providing technically defensible recommendations while enabling practical repair and return-to-service outcomes for deployed aircraft.