About the role
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the 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 highly capable Flight Test Instrumentation Engineer to support the development, integration, and execution of instrumentation systems for X-BAT, the world’s first autonomous VTOL jet aircraft. In this role, you will design, install, validate, and maintain data acquisition systems essential to aircraft-level testing, safety, and mission success. The Flight Test Instrumentation Engineer is responsible for ensuring high-quality, reliable data capture across propulsion, structural, avionics, and autonomy systems. This engineer works closely with Flight Test, Systems Engineering, Avionics, Autonomy, and Safety teams to ensure instrumentation supports rigorous test objectives and enables rapid, data-driven iteration. This is a hands-on, field-focused role that requires strong technical depth, disciplined execution, and the ability to operate effectively in a dynamic test environment. \n
What you'll do: Design, integrate, and maintain flight test instrumentation systems including sensors, data acquisition hardware, telemetry links, harnessing, and ground station interfaces. Develop instrumentation architecture, sensor selection plans, wiring diagrams, and installation documentation in accordance with engineering standards. Support installation and calibration of sensors such as strain gauges, accelerometers, pressure transducers, temperature sensors, current/voltage taps, and position measurement devices. Configure and validate data acquisition systems including signal conditioning, synchronization, sampling rates, and data integrity verification. Perform pre-flight and post-flight data checks, ensuring completeness, accuracy, and traceability of all captured data. Troubleshoot instrumentation issues, perform root-cause analysis, and implement corrective actions under tight test timelines. Collaborate with Flight Test teams to define instrumentation