Staff Engineer, Manufacturing Equipment
Shield AI · Seattle, WA
- Level
- Senior
- Team
- Manufacturing
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 8+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- 30+ days ago
The role in 30 seconds
A senior manufacturing role at Shield AI (aerospace & defense) in Seattle, WA. Own the technical lifecycle of production equipment, test racks, and test cells, from production readiness through sustainment and continuous improvement.
- They ask for
- 8+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- Root cause, Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ), PLC
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Manufacturing Engineer roles in Washington: typical posted base $103k–$145k.
Median of the low and high ends of 23 live postings that list pay, out of 39 manufacturing 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 38 other live manufacturing postings in Washington.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (8+ vs 3+)
Typical $100k–$135k, from 20 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 3+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- Tooling 62%
- ✓ Root cause 49%
- Automation 38%
- Lean 31%
- New product launch 31%
- ✓ Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 23%
✓ = 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 Manufacturing team at Shield AI
We found 1 person at this company and state: 1 in this kind of role. 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 Bryan → (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?
- Is the work mostly new product launches or sustaining existing lines?
- How much time do you spend on the floor versus at a desk?
- 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 · 1 person we found in manufacturing 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
- ◆Own the technical lifecycle of production equipment, test racks, and test cells, from production readiness through sustainment and continuous improvement
- ◆Lead troubleshooting and root-cause analysis of equipment failures, downtime events, and test anomalies; implement corrective and preventive actions
- ◆Drive equipment reliability, availability, and maintainability (RAM) improvements to support production goals
- ◆Develop and maintain equipment documentation including schematics, BOMs, calibration plans, maintenance procedures, and operating instructions
- ◆Collaborate with Manufacturing, Test, and Quality teams to ensure equipment meets production, safety, and compliance
requirements
- ✓Support equipment upgrades, obsolescence management, and capacity expansion as production scales
- ✓Define and execute equipment acceptance testing, validation, and handoff to production
- ✓Mentor junior engineers and technicians and provide technical leadership across equipment-related efforts
- ✓Manage external vendors and integrators as needed for equipment design, build, or modification
Required qualifications
- ✓Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechatronics, or a related field
- ✓8+ years of experience supporting production equipment, test racks, or test cells in a manufacturing or test environment
- ✓Strong hands-on experience with electromechanical systems, controls, instrumentation, and data acquisition
- ✓Proven ability to troubleshoot complex equipment issues across hardware, software, and controls domains
- ✓Experience developing and maintaining technical documentation for production equipment
- ✓Ability to work effectively on the factory floor and in cross-functional engineering teams
Preferred qualifications
- ✓Experience supporting automated or semi-automated production and test equipment
- ✓Familiarity with PLCs, HMIs, industrial networks, or test software (e.g., LabVIEW, Python, or similar)
- ✓Experience with equipment safety standards, lockout/tagout, and risk assessments
- ✓Background in scaling equipment from prototype or low-rate production to higher-rate manufacturing
- ✓Experience mentoring engineers or leading technical projects without direct authority
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 Staff Equipment Engineer to lead the development, sustainment, and improvement of production equipment, test racks, and test cells supporting manufacturing and system-level testing. This role is highly hands-on and works closely with Manufacturing, Test, Quality, and Design Engineering teams to ensure equipment reliability, scalability, and readiness for production. The ideal candidate has deep experience supporting complex electromechanical equipment in a production environment and driving improvements across safety, uptime, and throughput.