WHAT YOU'LL DO:
- Own and execute Middle East go-to-market strategy (excluding KSA) 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 intellig
- ence 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 across the Middle East region within defense, aerospace, or national security.
- Specific prior defense or government-facing experience in the Middle East with a deep understanding of regional procurement processes, offset requirements, export sensitivities, local defense primes, and indigenization requirements.
- Fluency in English (written and spoken). Fluency in Arabic strongly preferred.
- 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, across multiple markets, 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 region and internationally (~25%).
- Willingness and ability to work across multiple time zones (e.g. US HQ, Asia based colleagues, Middle East partners)
- Based in or willing to relocate to the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates).
- Mastery of critical business tools (Microsoft Suite – PPT, Excel, Word, LLMs, etc.)
- Experience forecasting, tracking, and managing deal cycles using Salesforce.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- U.S. Citizen (or dual national)
- Existing U.S. or allied security clearance.
- Currently based in region.
- Prior military service or operational leadership experience in the Middle East
- (++ 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 across the Middle East region within defense, aerospace, or national security.
- Specific prior defense or government-facing experience in the Middle East with deep understanding of regional procurement, offsets, export sensitivities, local primes, and indigenization.
- Fluency in English (written and spoken).
- Fluency in Arabic.
- 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 across multiple markets and 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 region and internationally (~25%).
- Willingness and ability to work across multiple time zones.
- Based in or willing to relocate to the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates).
- Mastery of Microsoft Suite (PowerPoint, Excel, Word) and LLMs.
- Experience forecasting, tracking, and managing deal cycles using Salesforce.
- U.S. Citizen (or dual national).
- Existing U.S. or allied security clearance.
- Currently based in region.
- Prior military service or operational leadership experience in the Middle East.
- Prior experience supporting foreign military sales (via DSCA) or engaging with foreign air forces.
- Direct experience with UAV operations, mission autonomy, AI-enabled C2 systems.
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials describe excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage alongside a mental‑health EAP. Site perks such as an onsite gym in DC and a gym discount in San Diego support a health‑focused offering.
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Retirement Support — Careers materials highlight a 401(k) with company match as part of the standard package. A Total Rewards overview emphasizes retirement features within a broader, transparent compensation view.
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Career-Linked Recognition & Rewards — Compensation for in‑demand technical and senior go‑to‑market roles is described as competitive, with visible engineering ranges and top‑end packages. This points to meaningful upside tied to role, level, and scarce skills.
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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Shield AI Teams
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Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
