Principal Propulsion Engineer (R6453)

Shield AI is hiring a Principal Propulsion Engineer (R6453) in Seattle, United States. It pays $260k-$400k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Shield AI.

Level's read on this job

Little AI ●○○○ is how Level rates this role: aI is not part of the work.
Tools and skills the posting cites include CAD, propulsion design and mechanical engineering.
Level classifies it as a senior role.
Level lists 663 other open roles at Shield AI.
The role was posted in the last few days.

AI in this role

Design and improve mechanical components for internal combustion and jet propulsion systems on UAV platforms.

cad

propulsion-designmechanical-engineeringuavconfiguration-control

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.
We are seeking a highly skilled Propulsion Design Engineer to serve as a senior technical contributor within our propulsion team. This role focuses on the design, release, and continual improvement of mechanical components and assemblies for internal combustion and jet propulsion systems on UAV platforms.
As a design engineer, you’ll lead complex CAD efforts, enforce rigorous design standards, and collaborate directly with Responsible Engineers, technicians, machinists, and production teams to ensure our propulsion hardware is functional, manufacturable, and testable. You will be the cornerstone of configuration control, interface discipline, and design-for-execution within the team.

How we rate this

Principal Propulsion Engineer (R6453) at Shield AI rates 10 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.

Classification

Little AI. AI is not part of the work.

●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
●○○○ Little AI0 to 39

Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.

Key facts

Principal Propulsion Engineer (R6453) is an open job at Shield AI.
Level rates this role AI Level 1 of 4: Little AI.
The listed salary is $260k-$400k a year.
The role is based in Seattle, Washington.
The job was posted on October 24, 2026.
Seniority: senior.
Applications are handled by Shield AI. Apply on Shield AI

Prepare for this job

Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.

Skills and AI tools this role asks for

Propulsion DesignMechanical EngineeringUavConfiguration ControlCAD

Questions you could be asked

Tell me about a project where propulsion design was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where mechanical engineering was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where uav was part of your work. What did you do?
Tell me about a project where configuration control was part of your work. What did you do?
Walk me through how you've used CAD in your day-to-day work.

Adapt your resume

List these exact terms on your resume: Propulsion Design, Mechanical Engineering, Uav, Configuration Control, and CAD. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.

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