Shield AI is seeking an FAA Regulatory Operations & Program Coordinator to establish and manage the administrative processes that support FAA authorizations across the company. This full-time individual contributor will create enterprise visibility into aircraft registrations, authorizations, applications, operating limitations, renewals, and future regulatory needs while coordinating work across V-BAT, Hivemind, X-BAT, and supporting teams.
You will work closely with Airworthiness, Safety, Flight Operations, Engineering, Legal, Government Relations, and program teams to organize submission schedules, maintain regulatory records, and keep actions moving to closure. This is a regulatory operations and program coordination role; designated subject matter experts will retain responsibility for technical analyses, compliance determinations, and approval of technical content. The ideal candidate can build structure across multiple programs, work accurately with regulated records, and communicate effectively with internal teams, test sites, and government stakeholders.
What you'll do:
- Establish and manage an enterprise FAA regulatory operations process covering FAA DroneZone, aircraft registrations and N-numbers, COA and airspace authorization activities, waiver submissions, and other applicable FAA systems.
- Maintain a single authoritative tracker for active authorizations, pending applications, operating limitations, account ownership, expiration and renewal dates, dependencies, decisions, and anticipated needs.
- Coordinate the intake, prioritization, schedule, development, review, submission, and follow-up of FAA-related packages across V-BAT, Hivemind, X-BAT, and supporting organizations; collect subject matter expert inputs and confirm completeness, version control, and approval status before authorized submission.
- Manage procedural correspondence, submission status, records, and administrative coordination with the FAA, UAS test sites, and other authorization stakeholders; route technical questions to the appropriate experts.
- Lead recurring cross-program regulatory status and planning reviews, document decisions and actions, and escalate schedule risks, unresolved dependencies, and approaching expirations.
- Support current and emerging authorization pathways, including Section 927 waivers, experimental certification, BVLOS, higher-altitude, and one-to-many operations, under the direction of the responsible technical and regulatory leads.
- Develop standardized submission workflows, templates, checklists, records controls, and role definitions; identify opportunities to automate routine tracking, reminders, and reporting while preserving program-specific account and submission responsibilities.
- Develop dashboards and concise status reports covering application volume, cycle time, aging actions, renewals, approval risks, and regulatory dependencies.
- Maintain a forward-looking FAA authorization roadmap aligned with planned tests, demonstrations, customer activities, new aircraft, missions, operating environments, and airspace needs; monitor relevant FAA process and system changes and coordinate impact reviews with designated experts.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in aviation management, business, public administration, regulatory affairs, project or program management, engineering, or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
- 3-5+ years of experience in aviation regulatory operations, project or program coordination, flight operations administration, airworthiness or certification program support, UAS operations, or a related regulated environment.
- Demonstrated experience coordinating regulatory applications, authorizations, certifications, or comparable controlled-submission processes.
- Experience managing multiple concurrent workstreams using integrated schedules, action and decision logs, dependency tracking, controlled records, and concise status reporting.
- Working knowledge of FAA aviation or UAS authorization processes and the judgment to distinguish administrative coordination from technical and regulatory decision authority.
- Strong professional and technical writing skills, with the ability to organize complex subject matter expert inputs into accurate, review-ready packages.
- Strong cross-functional communication, organization, attention to detail, and follow-through, with proficiency in Microsoft Office, Teams, SharePoint, and project-tracking or document-management tools.
Preferred qualifications:
- Direct experience with FAA DroneZone, FAA aircraft registration, COAs or airspace authorizations, Part 107 waivers, or experimental certification support.
- Experience supporting UAS, autonomous aircraft, defense aviation, or developmental flight-test programs.
- Previous administrative or programmatic interaction with the FAA, UAS test sites, Department of Defense organizations, or other aviation authorities.
- Familiarity with Section 927, 44807 and SAC-EC waivers, BVLOS, higher-altitude, one-to-many, or large-UAS approval pathways.[D(1]
- FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, CAPM or PMP certification, or comparable regulatory or project-management training.
- Experience building scalable workflows, dashboards, and automated tracking for a growing organization in a regulated environment.
#LC
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in aviation management, business, public administration, regulatory affairs, project or program management, engineering, or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
- 3-5+ years of experience in aviation regulatory operations, project or program coordination, flight operations administration, airworthiness or certification program support, UAS operations, or a related regulated environment.
- Experience coordinating regulatory applications, authorizations, certifications, or comparable controlled-submission processes.
- Experience managing multiple concurrent workstreams using integrated schedules, action and decision logs, dependency tracking, controlled records, and concise status reporting.
- Working knowledge of FAA aviation or UAS authorization processes and the ability to distinguish administrative coordination from technical and regulatory decision authority.
- Strong professional and technical writing skills, including organizing complex subject matter expert inputs into accurate, review-ready packages.
- Strong cross-functional communication, organization, attention to detail, and follow-through.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, Teams, SharePoint, and project-tracking or document-management tools.
- Direct experience with FAA DroneZone, FAA aircraft registration, COAs or airspace authorizations, Part 107 waivers, or experimental certification support.
- Experience supporting UAS, autonomous aircraft, defense aviation, or developmental flight-test programs.
- Previous administrative or programmatic interaction with the FAA, UAS test sites, Department of Defense organizations, or other aviation authorities.
- Familiarity with Section 927, 44807 and SAC-EC waivers, BVLOS, higher-altitude, one-to-many, or large-UAS approval pathways.
- FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, CAPM or PMP certification, or comparable regulatory or project-management training.
- Experience building scalable workflows, dashboards, and automated tracking for a growing organization in a regulated environment.
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
Gallery
%203.jpg)
Shield AI Teams
.jpg)
Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
