Shield AI’s International Business & Strategy team is hiring a Senior Director Business Development to accelerate growth and support the adoption of its autonomy ecosystem: X-BAT, V-BAT, ViDAR, and Hivemind across Japan, South Korea and Taiwan
The Senior Director of Business Development will lead Shield AI’s regional growth strategy, building out a team that is responsible for significant annual orders targets. The leader must have deep defense, national security, or aerospace experience in the country / region (Japanese language fluency preferable), established government relationships, and a track record of closing complex defense programs (ideally across both hardware and software).
You will operate with significant autonomy and ownership, shaping country strategy, leading major pursuits, and building long-term defense partnerships. You will report to the Vice President of International Business & Strategy (Middle East & Asia Pacific) and work closely with international business development colleagues around the globe, as well as product, engineering, and operations teams, to deliver mission-relevant autonomy capabilities at scale.
What you'll do:
- Own and execute regional (Japan/South Korea/Taiwan) go-to-market strategy for Shield AI’s product portfolio, including X-BAT, V-BAT, ViDAR, and Hivemind.
- Maintain direct responsibility for annual order targets, multi-year pipeline development, and order growth.
- Lead end-to-end capture and sales efforts from early engagement through contract award and follow-on growth.
- Engage directly with senior military, government, and defense industry stakeholders across the region.
- Differentiate Shield AI in competitive and regulated defense procurements.
- Provide actionable market and customer intelligence to influence product roadmap and broader international strategy.
- Work cross-functionally with product, legal, export compliance, and operations.
- Lead proposal/program development and complex product demonstrations.
- Structure and manage local partnerships, primes, and industrial participation or offset strategies.
- Represent Shield AI at senior-level engagements, exhibitions, and industry forums.
Required qualifications:
- 10+ years business development experience in the country or broader region within defense, aerospace, or national security.
- Specific prior defense or government-facing experience in Japan/South Korea/Taiwan with a deep understanding of procurement processes, offset requirements, export sensitivities, local defense primes, and indigenization requirements.
- Fluency in English & Japanese preferable (written and spoken).
- Demonstrated success closing complex defense or government programs - ideally across both hardware (aircraft/UAS) and software (autonomy/ai).
- Technical experience with autonomy, UAVs, ISR, and advanced sensing technologies.
- Strong negotiation, relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills.
- Ability to manage multiple concurrent pursuits, involving technical products, in ambiguous environments.
- Proven cross-functional leadership across operations, product, and BD teams.
- Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills.
- Willingness and ability to travel frequently in country/region and internationally
- Willingness and ability to work across multiple time zones
- Based today in Tokyo, Japan.
- Mastery of critical business tools (Microsoft Suite – PPT, Excel, Word, LLMs, etc.)
- Experience forecasting, tracking, and managing deal cycles using Salesforce.
Preferred qualifications:
- Existing U.S. or allied security clearance.
- Prior military service or operational leadership experience in Japan
(++ if directly related to UAS, autonomy, or fighter jet aircraft). - Prior experience supporting foreign military sales (via DSCA), engaging with SAF/IA, or working directly with foreign air forces.
- Direct experience with UAV operations, mission autonomy, AI-enabled C2 systems.
Skills Required
- 10+ years business development experience in the country or broader region within defense, aerospace, or national security
- Prior defense or government-facing experience in Japan/South Korea/Taiwan with understanding of procurement, offset requirements, export sensitivities, local defense primes, and indigenization requirements
- Fluency in English & Japanese (written and spoken)
- Demonstrated success closing complex defense or government programs across hardware and software
- Technical experience with autonomy, UAVs, ISR, and advanced sensing technologies
- Strong negotiation, relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills
- Ability to manage multiple concurrent pursuits involving technical products in ambiguous environments
- Proven cross-functional leadership across operations, product, and BD teams
- Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills
- Willingness and ability to travel frequently in country/region and internationally
- Willingness and ability to work across multiple time zones
- Based today in Tokyo, Japan
- Mastery of Microsoft Suite (PowerPoint, Excel, Word), LLMs, and other critical business tools
- Experience forecasting, tracking, and managing deal cycles using Salesforce
- Existing U.S. or allied security clearance
- Prior military service or operational leadership experience in Japan (especially related to UAS, autonomy, or fighter aircraft)
- Prior experience supporting foreign military sales, engaging with defense agencies, or working directly with foreign air forces
- Direct experience with UAV operations, mission autonomy, or AI-enabled C2 systems
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as excellent, with dental/vision and mental‑health support, and ancillary protections like life and disability appearing in benefit summaries. The breadth and perceived affordability of coverage are highlighted as a standout component of the package.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is featured alongside enhanced maternity benefits, fertility and childcare support, and onsite resources such as a Mother’s Room. These elements are positioned as competitive and above the minimal baseline for the company’s stage.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity is granted to all full‑time hires, with RSUs, double‑trigger tax timing, and tools to model scenarios (e.g., through Carta Tax). Communications also reference a transition from options to RSUs, reinforcing access and maturity of ownership programs.
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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