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Senior Aircraft Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Supernal

Sr. Aircraft Layout & CAD Engineer

Irvine, CA · On-site

The Sr. Aircraft Layout & CAD Engineer supports aircraft configuration development, vehicle layout, packaging, and structural design integration for advanced air vehicle concepts. This role develops ...

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Senior Aircraft Engineer information

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$59.5K

$126.6K

$183.5K

How much do senior aircraft engineer jobs pay per year?

As of Sep 8, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior aircraft engineer in the United States is $126,557.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $104,500.00 and $143,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What is a senior aircraft engineer?

Senior Aircraft Engineers are highly experienced professionals responsible for overseeing the maintenance, repair, and overall airworthiness of aircraft. They lead engineering teams, ensure compliance with safety regulations, and troubleshoot complex technical issues. Their duties often include supervising maintenance schedules, approving engineering modifications, and liaising with regulatory authorities. Senior Aircraft Engineers play a critical role in ensuring that all aircraft systems operate safely and efficiently.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a senior aircraft engineer?

To thrive as a Senior Aircraft Engineer, you need a solid background in aerospace engineering, extensive experience with aircraft systems, and relevant certifications such as a Professional Engineer (PE) license or EASA/FAA approval. Expertise with CAD software, maintenance management systems, and compliance tools is commonly required. Strong problem-solving abilities, leadership, and effective communication set high-performing engineers apart in this role. These skills and qualities are crucial for ensuring safety, regulatory compliance, and the successful management of complex engineering projects.

What are some common challenges faced by senior aircraft engineers, and how can they be addressed?

Senior Aircraft Engineers often encounter challenges such as managing complex maintenance tasks under tight deadlines, ensuring compliance with evolving aviation regulations, and troubleshooting advanced technical issues. To address these challenges, it's essential to stay updated with regulatory changes, participate in continuous professional development, and foster strong communication with multidisciplinary teams. Building effective collaboration with technicians, inspectors, and project managers also helps streamline problem-solving and enhances overall operational safety.

What is the difference between Senior Aircraft Engineer vs Aircraft Maintenance Engineer?

AspectSenior Aircraft EngineerAircraft Maintenance Engineer
CredentialsEngineering degree, certifications like EASA Part-66, experienceTechnical diploma or certification, licensing depending on region
Work EnvironmentDesign, development, oversight, and troubleshooting of aircraft systemsHands-on maintenance, inspections, repairs on aircraft
Employer & Industry UsageAirlines, aerospace companies, defense contractorsAirlines, maintenance facilities, repair stations

While both roles require technical expertise and certifications, Senior Aircraft Engineers focus on design, analysis, and oversight of aircraft systems, whereas Aircraft Maintenance Engineers perform hands-on repairs and inspections. The senior role involves more planning and supervision, often working in design or oversight capacities, while maintenance engineers are directly involved in aircraft upkeep and safety checks.

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Cities with the most Senior Aircraft Engineer job openings:

What are the most commonly searched types of Aircraft Engineer jobs?

The most popular types of Aircraft Engineer jobs are:

What states have the most Senior Aircraft Engineer jobs?

States with the most job openings for Senior Aircraft Engineer jobs include:

What job categories do people searching Senior Aircraft Engineer jobs look for?

The top searched job categories for Senior Aircraft Engineer jobs are:

Senior Aircraft Engineer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Senior Aircraft Engineer job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 93% Full Time, 3% Part Time, and 4% Contract. Highlights an 86% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 9% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $126,557 per year, or $60.8 per hour.

Staff Technical Sourcer - Aircraft Engineering

Shield AI

Seattle, WA

Full-time

Posted 12 days ago

Job description

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're looking for a Staff Technical Sourcer who lives and breathes talent discovery - someone who can take a complex, highly specialized aircraft engineering need and translate it into a precision sourcing strategy. You'll be the go-to expert for talent intelligence, market mapping, proactive candidate generation, and pipeline cultivation across our aircraft and advanced aerospace engineering organizations.

This isn't just a "find resumes" role - it's about building intelligence, relationships, and repeatable systems that fuel our aircraft engineering hiring engine. As a Staff Talent Sourcer, you'll serve as a strategic partner to recruiters and hiring leaders while leveraging modern AI tools, market intelligence, and scalable sourcing practices to help us identify and hire world-class aircraft engineering talent.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:
  • Own the top of funnel: Partner closely with recruiters and hiring leaders to define target profiles and build deep, data-informed sourcing strategies across Aerodynamics, Aerostructures, Propulsion, Flight Sciences, Avionics, Electrical, Mechanical, Systems, Manufacturing, Test, and other aircraft engineering disciplines.
  • Map the market: Develop comprehensive talent landscapes by company, skillset, geography, and organizational structure; identify hidden talent pools, competitor insights, and emerging talent trends to inform recruiting strategy and workforce planning.
  • Generate and engage: Use advanced Boolean search techniques, sourcing platforms, and creative sourcing channels (LinkedIn Recruiter, SeekOut, HireEZ, ClearanceJobs, GitHub, engineering communities, niche aerospace and aviation networks, conferences, referrals, and more) to identify, engage, and attract exceptional aircraft engineering talent.
  • Build pipelines proactively: Cultivate long-term relationships with passive, cleared, and highly specialized aircraft engineering talent to enable just-in-time hiring across strategic programs.
  • Leverage AI to scale sourcing: Design, build, and continuously improve AI-powered sourcing workflows, research agents, and practical automations that increase recruiter productivity, accelerate candidate discovery, enhance market intelligence, and improve operational efficiency.
  • Build repeatable sourcing systems: Use AI tools and workflow automation to create structured market maps, talent intelligence reports, outreach content, sourcing documentation, and scalable recruiting processes that can be leveraged across the Talent Acquisition organization.
  • Be the sourcing SME: Serve as the subject matter expert on aircraft technical sourcing by coaching recruiters and hiring managers on market insights, sourcing strategy, talent availability, competitive intelligence, candidate engagement best practices, and emerging recruiting technologies.
  • Partner for impact: Collaborate cross-functionally with Talent Acquisition Operations, Employer Brand, University Recruiting, and Aircraft Engineering leaders to optimize recruiting strategies, outbound messaging, candidate experience, and operational excellence.
  • Track and iterate: Use recruiting analytics, experimentation, and storytelling to measure sourcing effectiveness, optimize outreach strategies, improve conversion rates, and continuously evolve sourcing practices.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
  • 8+ years of technical sourcing experience, ideally in aerospace, defense, aviation, advanced aircraft, or other complex hardware/software industries.
  • Proven track record in market mapping, competitive intelligence, and candidate generation for highly specialized aircraft or aerospace technical roles.
  • Deep expertise in advanced Boolean search, LinkedIn Recruiter, HireEZ, SeekOut, ClearanceJobs, GitHub, and other modern sourcing platforms.
  • Demonstrated ability to operate as a consultative partner to recruiters, hiring managers, and senior aircraft engineering leaders, influencing hiring strategy through market insights and talent intelligence.
  • Hands-on experience building or leveraging AI-powered sourcing workflows, agentic AI tools, workflow automations, or practical AI solutions that improve recruiting or business processes.
  • Direct experience using AI development environments or coding assistants (such as Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini, or similar tools) to create repeatable sourcing workflows, structured research outputs, market intelligence, process automation, or operational documentation.
  • Experience building and maintaining long-term relationships with passive, cleared, or niche aircraft engineering talent.
  • Excellent communication and storytelling skills with the ability to engage highly technical candidates and influence stakeholders.
  • Strong judgment, curiosity, and a continuous improvement mindset with the ability to evaluate and adopt emerging AI technologies to improve recruiting outcomes.
  • Highly organized, data-driven, and able to operate autonomously in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
  • Prior experience supporting aircraft, aerospace, aviation, advanced vehicle, or defense engineering organizations.
  • Experience navigating export control, ITAR, EAR, or security-cleared recruiting environments.
  • Familiarity with Ashby and recruiting analytics, CRM, or talent intelligence platforms.
  • Experience supporting high-growth, venture-backed technology organizations.
  • Demonstrated passion for staying ahead of emerging recruiting technologies, sourcing methodologies, and AI advancements.
We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.
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