At Shield AI, we’re redefining the battlespace with autonomy-enabled airpower. As part of our global expansion, we’re looking for a bold and visionary Capture Team Lead, Poland to lead an active and high profile campaign.
This will involve customer engagement and senior military, industry and government levels, while directing our capture efforts for our X-Bat and Autonomy initiatives across Poland. This is a high-impact role at the cutting edge of aerospace and defense innovation. You’ll be on the front lines, driving adoption and revenue for Shield AI’s technologies by engaging directly with top-tier defense stakeholders—military customers, industry primes, and government decision-makers. Your mission: position Shield AI as the go-to partner for next-generation air combat solutions in Poland closing an active campaign.
You’ll bring a rare mix of defense sales expertise, technical credibility, and a deep understanding of air domain CONOPS and acquisition frameworks. From identifying new opportunities to closing complex deals and launching follow on programs, you’ll own the entire capture lifecycle.
What you'll do:
- Drive Strategic Capture: Shape, and capture our X Bat campaign across Poland’s next-gen airpower program for X-Bat and autonomy.
- Own our Polish Strategic Campaign: Lead the full business development lifecycle for X-Bat, from customer engagement through proposal, negotiation, and contract award.
- Engage Key Stakeholders: Build and maintain trusted relationships with all key Poland stakeholders, partners and influencers.
- Shape Requirements & CONOPS: Influence customer requirements and future CCA CONOPS to align with Shield AI’s product offerings.
- Support Demonstrations & Campaigns: Lead Shield AI’s positioning and participation in regional flight demos, technical trials, and program pilots.
- Coordinate Cross-Functionally: Collaborate closely with engineering, product, legal, and program teams to align technical solutions with customer needs and delivery requirements.
Required qualifications:
- 10+ years in a relevant air force or industry occupation, bringing significant depth of understanding of relevant CONOPs and platform applications and program delivery.
- 5+ years of experience in defense acquisition, business development, sales, or strategy, ideally with a focus on air platforms or autonomy.
- Strong track record of capturing and closing defense programs or tech insertions with Polish defence.
- Understanding of next-gen air combat trends, including CCAs, MUM-T, and AI-enabled CONOPS.
- Ability to credibly represent technically complex products to both strategic and operational-level audiences.
- Familiarity with key Polish acquisition pathways.
Skills Required
- 10+ years in a relevant air force or industry occupation, with deep understanding of air-domain CONOPS, platform applications, and program delivery.
- 5+ years of experience in defense acquisition, business development, sales, or strategy, ideally focused on air platforms or autonomy.
- Track record of capturing and closing defense programs or technology insertions with Polish defense organizations.
- Understanding of next-generation air combat trends, including CCAs, MUM-T, and AI-enabled CONOPS.
- Ability to represent technically complex products credibly to strategic and operational-level audiences.
- Familiarity with key Polish acquisition pathways.
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials highlight comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with mental-health support and an EAP. Third-party benefits summaries also portray health coverage as a strong component of the package.
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Retirement Support — Offerings include a 401(k) with employer matching, cited on the careers page and independent benefits directories. Multiple sources indicate a match exists, though exact formulas have varied over time and warrant confirmation.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Company communications describe equity for all full-time hires and stock benefits as part of total rewards. Independent listings also note company equity/RSUs as a standard element.
Shield AI Insights
What We Do
At Shield AI, you won't wait years to see your work reach the field. You'll build hardware and software that operates in the real world right now, in the hands of the people who depend on it. Hivemind, our AI pilot, has been flying since 2018. It has flown more than 30 platforms, including an F-16, and it now sits under a U.S. Air Force production contract for Collaborative Combat Aircraft. When you write code or shape a system here, you contribute to technology with a proven flight record and a clear production future. V-BAT flies intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions with an operational record that stretches from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific. It delivers eyes where they matter most, in the most demanding conditions on earth. The teams behind it watch their work get tested where the stakes are real. X-BAT takes its first flight this year. It's an AI-piloted fighter that needs no runway, built to operate where traditional aircraft can't. Join now and you help shape a program at its earliest, most formative stage. That's the kind of ground-floor work that defines a career. Do the most impactful work of your life, on problems that matter. Autonomy at this level asks a lot of you. You'll take on problems in perception, planning, and control that few teams anywhere are equipped to solve. You'll work across disciplines, from aerospace and robotics to machine learning and systems engineering, alongside people who hold themselves to an exacting standard and expect the same from you. Our mission is clear: protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. That purpose runs through every decision, every design review, and every deployment. It's why the work here carries a weight you can feel. Ready to join our mission? Explore our open roles and find where you fit.
Why Work With Us
Founded in 2015 by a former Navy SEAL, Shield AI builds AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft. Veterans aren't an afterthought here, they're at every level. It's why the work carries weight: AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft flying real missions, from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific, protecting service members and civilians.
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Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
