Senior Engineer, Reliability (R6440)
Shield AI · Seattle, WA
- Level
- Senior
- Team
- Reliability
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 5+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- Today
The role in 30 seconds
A senior reliability role at Shield AI (aerospace & defense) in Seattle, WA.
- They ask for
- 5+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- FMEA
- Openings
- 2 with this title at this site
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Reliability Engineer roles in Washington: typical posted base $105k–$145k.
Median of the low and high ends of 11 live postings that list pay, out of 18 reliability engineer openings in Washington, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Washington plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 17 other live reliability postings in Washington.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (5+ vs 2+)
Typical $105k–$145k, from 11 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 2+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- Python 61%
- Root cause 50%
- Automation 50%
- ✓ FMEA 28%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention 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 Reliability team at Shield AI
We found 7 people at this company and state: 2 in this kind of role, 5 leaders. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See 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.
Write to Michael → (free) - 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- 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 Seattle
16 other open roles at this site · 7 people we found in reliability roles at Shield AI.
- Compensation Director, Aircraft Engineering and Manufacturing (R6270) · Manufacturing · Director+
- Director, Avionics Mechanical Engineering · Reliability · Director+
- Head of Aircraft Production (R6147) · Production · Director+
- Head of Aircraft Quality (R6146) · Quality · Director+
- Staff Electrical Specialist - Hardware Test (R6122) · Reliability · Senior
- Engineer I, Quality (R5976) · Quality
Full description from Shield AIAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
What You'll Do
- ◆Develop and maintain aircraft-level reliability requirements, objectives, and program reliability plans.
- ◆Establish, allocate, and manage reliability budgets across systems, subsystems, and line-replaceable units.
- ◆Track predicted reliability against program targets and identify components or subsystems driving reliability risk.
- ◆Perform reliability predictions using component failure-rate data, operating environments, and mission profiles.
- ◆Conduct Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), and Reliability Block Diagram (RBD) analysis.
- ◆Support aircraft system safety assessments by providing failure rates, failure modes, and reliability data.
- ◆Develop and maintain Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF), Mean Time Between Critical Failure (MTBCF), mission reliability, availability, and related reliability metrics.
- ◆Perform reliability allocation, trade studies, sensitivity analyses, and design assessments.
- ◆Lead or support Failure Reporting, Analysis, and Corrective Action System (FRACAS) activities.
- ◆Analyze ground-test, flight-test, supplier, maintenance, and field-performance data to identify reliability trends.
- ◆Apply Weibull analysis and other statistical methods to evaluate failure behavior and predict component life.
- ◆Work with design teams to eliminate single-point failures, reduce high-risk failure modes, and improve fault tolerance.
- ◆Review supplier reliability analyses, test results, and supporting technical data.
- ◆Define reliability demonstration and growth-test requirements, success criteria, and data-collection needs.
- ◆Support technical reviews, including SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, and reliability review boards.
- ◆Communicate reliability performance, budget status, assumptions, risks, and recommended corrective actions to customers and program leadership.
- ◆Mentor junior engineers and improve organizational reliability processes, tools, and standards.
What You'll Bring
Required Qualifications
- ✓Bachelor’s degree in reliability engineering, systems engineering, aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or a related technical field
- ✓5+ years of related experience in reliability engineering, systems engineering, aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or a related technical field
- ✓Direct experience supporting aircraft development, integration, testing, sustainment, or operations.
- ✓Experience developing and managing reliability budgets at the system, subsystem, or equipment level.
- ✓Proficiency with reliability methods such as FMEA/FMECA, FTA, RBD, Weibull analysis, reliability predictions, and FRACAS.
- ✓Familiarity with reliability metrics such as MTBF, MTBCF, failure rate, mission reliability, operational availability, and inherent availability.
- ✓Experience using reliability analysis tools such as ReliaSoft, Windchill Quality Solutions, Isograph, RAM Commander, or equivalent.
- ✓Ability to interpret aircraft mission profiles, operating environments, duty cycles, and test data.
- ✓Experience working with multidisciplinary engineering teams and suppliers.
- ✓Strong analytical, technical writing, presentation, and customer communication skills.
- ✓Ability to obtain and maintain any security clearance required for the program.
Preferred Qualifications
- ✓Experience working on military aircraft, unmanned aircraft, or other defense aerospace platforms.
- ✓Experience managing aircraft-level reliability allocations and flowing
requirements
down to suppliers.
- ✓Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-217, NPRD, EPRD, RIAC 217Plus, or equivalent reliability prediction methods and databases.
- ✓Experience integrating reliability engineering with system safety, maintainability, logistics, and availability analyses.
- ✓Knowledge of Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM) and condition-based maintenance approaches.
- ✓Experience supporting environmental qualification, ground testing, flight testing, or reliability growth testing.
- ✓Familiarity with Model-Based Systems Engineering and
requirements
management tools.
- ✓Certified Reliability Engineer credentials or equivalent professional certification.
- ✓Active U.S. security clearance.
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.
We are seeking a Senior Reliability Engineer to lead reliability engineering activities for the development, integration, testing, and operation of aircraft systems. This position will work across engineering disciplines to establish reliability requirements, manage system reliability budgets, perform reliability analyses, and identify design improvements that increase aircraft availability and mission success.
The successful candidate will have direct experience working on aircraft or other complex aerospace systems and be proficient with industry-standard reliability tools and methods. This engineer will serve as the primary reliability point of contact for assigned programs and communicate reliability performance, risks, and improvement plans to engineering leadership and customers.