Staff Electrical Specialist - Hardware Test (R6122)
Shield AI · Seattle, WA
- Level
- Senior
- Team
- Reliability
- Degree
- Required (or equivalent experience)
- Experience asked
- 6+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 25 days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A senior reliability role at Shield AI (aerospace & defense) in Seattle, WA. A record of resolving urgent production or laboratory issues while preserving safety, quality, traceability, and configuration control, communicating clearly, and mentoring others.
- They ask for
- 6+ years · degree required (or equivalent experience)
- Tools it names
- Root cause, Tooling
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 (6+ 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+
- Engineer I, Quality (R5976) · Quality
- Senior Engineer, Reliability (R5950) · Reliability · Senior
Full description from Shield AIAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
What you'll do
- ◆Build, integrate, validate, maintain, and repair electrical test systems that combine custom electronics, harnesses, instruments, controls, test computers, and mechanical fixtures.
- ◆Perform benchtop PCBA testing and advanced troubleshooting using schematics, assembly drawings, test procedures, and laboratory instruments.
- ◆Perform high-quality PCBA, cable, harness, connector, and electromechanical rework, including inspection and verification of completed repairs.
- ◆Design and release interface boards, simple-to-moderate PCBs, harnesses, breakout assemblies, adapters, and electrical portions of test fixtures using appropriate CAD tools.
- ◆Select components, connectors, wire, circuit protection, relays, switches, and instrumentation; document pinouts, bills of material, drawings, and assembly instructions.
- ◆Support equipment checkout, calibration, preventive maintenance, configuration control, spares, and lifecycle issues such as obsolescence and recurring failures.
- ◆Respond to emergent production- and test-floor issues, restore safe operation, communicate status, and ensure temporary actions are converted into durable corrective actions.
- ◆Partner with electrical, mechanical, software, manufacturing, quality, and test engineers in design reviews; advocate for testability, serviceability, fault isolation, and simpler rework.
- ◆Create and improve work instructions, checkout procedures, troubleshooting guides, inspection criteria, and safe-work practices for electrical equipment.
- ◆Mentor technicians and engineers, lead difficult builds and repairs, and model strong ownership, workmanship, documentation, and laboratory discipline.
Required qualifications
- ✓6+ years of hands-on electrical experience in aerospace, manufacturing, test, electronics, or a similarly rigorous hardware environment; equivalent military or trade experience is welcome.
- ✓Demonstrated expertise in benchtop electrical testing, PCBA troubleshooting, and root-cause isolation using oscilloscopes, multimeters, power supplies, electronic loads, logic analyzers, and related equipment.
- ✓Advanced experience performing PCBA and harness assembly, modification, and rework from controlled drawings and workmanship requirements.
- ✓Ability to read, create, and review schematics, wiring diagrams, pinouts, assembly drawings, bills of material, and test procedures.
- ✓Experience designing and maintaining electrical test equipment, interface electronics, harnesses, or production fixtures through release and sustained use.
- ✓Working knowledge of analog and digital circuits, power distribution and protection, grounding, shielding, connectors, communications interfaces, and electrical safety.
- ✓A record of resolving urgent production or laboratory issues while preserving safety, quality, traceability, and configuration control, communicating clearly, and mentoring others.
Preferred qualifications
- ✓Associate degree, technical certificate, military electronics training, or equivalent practical education; IPC workmanship certification or equivalent experience is valued.
- ✓Experience with Altium, KiCad, OrCAD, Eagle, or comparable tools and with aircraft wiring, avionics interfaces, communications, sensors, power electronics, batteries, motors, or RF systems.
- ✓Experience with environmental or qualification-test equipment, data-acquisition systems, programmable instruments, LabVIEW, TestStand, Python, Linux, or test computers.
- ✓Experience applying ESD controls, electrical safe-work practices, calibration requirements, nonconformance processes, and formal configuration management.
- ✓Eligibility to obtain a U.S. security clearance if required by the program.
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
Shield AI is seeking a Staff Electrical Test Engineering Specialist to build, modify, troubleshoot, and sustain the electrical test systems used to prove X-BAT hardware is reliable and mission ready. The Hardware Test Engineering team develops custom equipment for component- and system-level testing at ambient and simulated harsh environmental conditions.
This is a senior hands-on technical role focused on electrical execution and test-system readiness. You will perform complex PCBA and harness troubleshooting and rework, build and validate test equipment, design interface electronics and harnesses, support production and test operations, and lead improvements that make hardware easier to test, repair, and sustain. You will also mentor technicians and engineers, establish strong workmanship practices, and serve as a trusted escalation point for difficult electrical problems.
What success looks like
- •Keep critical test and production equipment safe, available, calibrated, and ready when programs need it.
- •Resolve difficult electrical failures quickly and document root cause, repair, verification, and prevention clearly.
- •Deliver high-quality electrical assemblies and improve team capability through strong workmanship, standard work, training, design feedback, and configuration control.