Supplier Development Engineer - Mechanical
Shield AI · Dallas, TX
- Level
- Engineer
- Team
- Quality
- Travel
- 50%
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
An engineer-level quality role at Shield AI (aerospace & defense) in Dallas, TX. Process Improvement: Audit and embed into core supplier processes to understand improvement opportunities to cost, lead-times, and quality.
- Tools it names
- Root cause, GD&T, Supplier quality, Machining, Welding, SolidWorks
- Day to day
- about 50% travel
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Quality Engineer roles in Texas: typical posted base $90k–$121k.
Median of the low and high ends of 20 live postings that list pay, out of 84 quality engineer openings in Texas, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Texas plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 83 other live quality postings in Texas.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- Not stated
Typical $90k–$120k, from 19 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 3+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- ✓ Root cause 69%
- ✓ New product launch 38%
- Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 37%
- Lean 36%
- FMEA 33%
- Six Sigma 30%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for Machining, Welding, SolidWorks, CATIA / NX, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Quality team at Shield AI
Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. Use the team search on this page to find them.
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
- 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Which standards drive the work here: ISO 13485, IATF 16949, AS9100?
- How much of the job is customer complaints versus prevention?
- The posting says about 50% travel. Between which sites?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Shield AI in Dallas
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- Sr Director Engineering, V-BAT · Manufacturing · Director+
- Director, Avionics Engineering, V-BAT · Manufacturing · Director+
Full description from Shield AIAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
What you'll do
- ◆Process Improvement: Audit and embed into core supplier processes to understand improvement opportunities to cost, lead-times, and quality
- ◆Quality Assurance: Conduct on-site audits to root cause supplier quality issues or performance challenges
- ◆Supplier Development: Assess and improve supplier capabilities, ensuring alignment with engineering and operational priorities.
- ◆Engineering Technical Support: Provide technical guidance to suppliers on part specifications, manufacturing processes and standards, and quality measures
- ◆Supplier Performance Monitoring: Track and analyze supplier performance metrics, including delivery, quality, and cost. Implement corrective actions and continuous improvement plans as necessary.
- ◆Risk Management: Identify and mitigate risks within the supply chain to ensure uninterrupted production and delivery of components
- ◆New Product Introduction (NPI): Support the introduction of new products by ensuring suppliers meet all quality and delivery
requirements
during the development phase
Required qualifications
- ✓7 plus years of supply chain, manufacturing engineering, process engineering,
- ✓CAD (SolidWorks, NX, CATIA, etc.)
- ✓Excel / data analysis
- ✓PLM or ERP systems
- ✓Travel up to 50%
- ✓Can read drawings + GD&T confidently
- ✓Understand machining/welding/forming processes
- ✓Led root cause investigations (8D, 5 Whys)
- ✓Worked with suppliers or production lines
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
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.
Job Description
We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Supplier Development Engineer to join Shield AI, focusing on machined parts. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in supplier development, quality engineering, production process improvement, and supply chain management within the aerospace industry. This role is critical in enhancing supplier performance by solving supplier challenges that impact quality/on-time delivery/scaling, supporting the onboarding of suppliers to new designs, and delivering on our mission to deliver affordable and autonomous mass at scale.