The Compensation Director, Aircraft Engineering and Manufacturing, serves as the strategic compensation leader for the Aircraft division, providing enterprise-level oversight for compensation programs supporting manufacturing, production, operations, supply chain, logistics, customer success, and skilled trades. This role defines compensation strategy for large, complex employee populations while ensuring programs are competitive, scalable, compliant, and aligned with business objectives.
As the organization's subject matter expert for manufacturing and operations compensation, the Director partners closely with business leaders, Px Business Partners, Finance, and Legal to design compensation programs that enable business growth, talent attraction, workforce scalability, and operational excellence.
The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in manufacturing compensation strategy, non-exempt workforce design, market intelligence, and executive consulting, with a demonstrated ability to influence enterprise decisions and build compensation frameworks that support rapidly growing operations.
What you'll do:
- Develop and lead the compensation strategy supporting Aircraft manufacturing, production, operations, supply chain, logistics, customer success, and skilled trades populations.
- Serve as the SME on manufacturing and operations compensation, shaping long-term compensation philosophy and governance.
- Partner with business leadership to align compensation strategy with business growth, workforce planning, organizational design, and operational priorities.
- Drive compensation initiatives supporting facility expansions, new business models, geographic growth, and workforce transformation.
- Lead the design and evolution of compensation structures supporting large non-exempt employee populations.
- Establish wage structures, geographic differentials, shift premium strategies, progression frameworks, and other compensation programs that balance external competitiveness with internal equity.
- Oversee market pricing methodologies utilizing Radford, Mercer, WTW, and specialized manufacturing compensation surveys alongside complementary market intelligence.
- Develop innovative compensation approaches to attract and retain highly competitive manufacturing, technical, and operational talent.
- Serve as the trusted compensation advisor to Aircraft executives and business leaders.
- Consult on organization design, workforce investments, location strategy, and talent acquisition decisions with significant financial and organizational impact in partnership with the Px Business Partner.
- Provide strategic guidance on compensation implications of organizational changes, acquisitions, new facilities, and business expansion.
- Present compensation recommendations and analyses to executive leadership with clear business rationale and risk assessments.
- Lead enterprise compensation analyses including market competitiveness, pay equity, workforce cost modeling, and incentive effectiveness.
- Translate complex compensation data into actionable insights for executive stakeholders.
- Anticipate market trends and proactively recommend compensation strategies that strengthen organizational competitiveness.
- Establish governance frameworks, policies, and administration standards for manufacturing compensation programs.
- Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local wage and hour regulations while mitigating organizational risk.
- Partner with Legal, Finance, and People Operations on complex compensation matters and regulatory changes.
- Lead continuous improvement initiatives to simplify compensation processes, improve scalability, and enhance operational efficiency.
- Champion best practices in compensation design, analytics, governance, and operational excellence.
- Build organizational capability through knowledge sharing, coaching, and development of compensation expertise across the People function.
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Finance, Business, Economics, or a related field.
- 15+ years of progressive compensation experience, including significant leadership supporting manufacturing, production, operations, or supply chain organizations.
- Deep expertise designing enterprise compensation strategies for large non-exempt employee populations.
- Extensive knowledge of wage and hour regulations, compensation governance, and manufacturing compensation practices.
- Demonstrated experience designing wage structures, progression frameworks, geographic differentials, and premium pay programs.
- Advanced analytical, financial modeling, and executive presentation skills.
- Proven ability to influence senior executives and drive enterprise-wide compensation decisions.
- Experience leading large, cross-functional compensation initiatives with significant organizational impact.
Preferred qualifications:
- Certified Compensation Professional (CCP).
- Experience supporting both union and non-union manufacturing environments.
- Experience within global manufacturing or advanced technology organizations.
- Expertise utilizing Radford, Mercer, WTW, and specialized manufacturing compensation surveys.
- Experience with Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, or enterprise compensation planning systems.
- Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement experience.
- Experience leading or mentoring compensation professionals.
Skills Required
- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Finance, Business, Economics, or a related field.
- 15+ years of progressive compensation experience, including significant leadership supporting manufacturing, production, operations, or supply chain organizations.
- Deep expertise designing enterprise compensation strategies for large non-exempt employee populations.
- Extensive knowledge of wage and hour regulations, compensation governance, and manufacturing compensation practices.
- Experience designing wage structures, progression frameworks, geographic differentials, and premium pay programs.
- Advanced analytical, financial modeling, and executive presentation skills.
- Ability to influence senior executives and drive enterprise-wide compensation decisions.
- Experience leading large, cross-functional compensation initiatives with significant organizational impact.
- Certified Compensation Professional certification.
- Experience supporting union and non-union manufacturing environments.
- Experience within global manufacturing or advanced technology organizations.
- Expertise using Radford, Mercer, WTW, and specialized manufacturing compensation surveys.
- Experience with Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, or enterprise compensation planning systems.
- Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement experience.
- Experience leading or mentoring compensation professionals.
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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Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
