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Our mission is to protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems.
The Role
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Job Description:
We’re building advanced autonomous systems for defense and commercial markets. Scaling this kind of company requires financial precision, strong operating systems, and fast, informed decision‑making.
We’re hiring a Senior Director of Corporate Finance to be the VP of FP&A’s right hand—a strategic operator who builds the forecasting engine, liquidity framework, and planning infrastructure that power the business.
This is a high‑ownership, high‑impact role. You’ll work across hardware production, autonomous software, and multi‑year government programs where clarity on cash, cost, and scale is mission‑critical. If you love building systems, simplifying complexity, and enabling speed, you’ll thrive here.
What you'll do:
- Build the Financial Backbone:
- --Co‑run forecasting, planning, and executive reporting with the VP of FP&A
- --Lead monthly forecasts, annual planning, and multi‑scenario modeling
- --Build integrated three‑statement models tied to real operational drivers
- --Turn engineering plans, production ramps, and contract structures into financial clarity
- --Establish a simple, disciplined financial operating cadence
- Own Liquidity Strategy:
- --Lead cash flow forecasting and liquidity planning
- --Build rolling cash forecasts across working capital, inventory, supplier terms, milestone billing, and CapEx
- --Model program‑level cash curves and scale scenarios to flag risks early
- --Partner with Operations and Supply Chain on long‑lead procurement and capital deployment
- --Ensure every major decision reflects its cash impact
- Build Systems That Scale:
- --Own Anaplan, ERP, CRM, BI, and financial data pipelines
- --Lead end‑to‑end Anaplan implementation and optimization
- --Replace manual work with automated workflows
- --Partner with Engineering and Data teams to build a unified, accurate financial data layer
- Partner Across the Company:
- --Support Product, Engineering, Programs, and Operations on costs, investments, headcount, and program economics
- --Build program models aligned with hardware development and milestone-based revenue
- --Provide insights that drive action—not just reports
- Lead the Team:
- --Build and mentor a high‑performance finance team
- --Set standards for modeling, analysis, and cross‑functional partnership
- --Foster clarity, ownership, and bias for action
Who you are:
- Mission‑driven, motivated by real impact
- A systems thinker who builds for durability and scale
- Calm, clear, and decisive under pressure
- Direct communicator who elevates decisions
- Automation‑oriented and relentlessly improving
- High integrity and comfortable with hard tradeoffs
Required qualifications:
- 12+ years in FP&A, Corporate or Strategic Finance
- Experience in high‑growth, complex environments (hardware + software or dual‑use a plus)
- Proven success building scalable forecasting and planning systems
- Hands‑on Anaplan implementation and ownership
- Deep experience in three‑statement modeling and linking operational drivers to financial outcomes
- Strong cash forecasting and liquidity planning skills
- Experience with working capital, inventory, government/milestone cash timing, and CapEx
- Systems mindset: automation > manual work
- Experience writing business requirements for technical teams
- Comfortable operating in dynamic, fast‑moving environments
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience in defense, aerospace, robotics, or deep‑tech
- Familiarity with government contract structures and program accounting
- Experience with hardware production ramps and manufacturing scale
- Strong data fluency (dashboards, data models, integrations)
#LI-AA2
#LG
Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
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Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Shield AI and has not been reviewed or approved by Shield AI.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as excellent, spanning medical, dental, vision, mental‑health EAP, and optional pet insurance. Location‑based wellness perks such as onsite or discounted gym access reinforce the health offering.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity is positioned as a standard component of total rewards for full‑time employees, with stock/RSUs noted across roles. Access appears broad‑based rather than limited to select cohorts.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time‑off programs highlight paid parental leave alongside an accrual‑based PTO structure with a high carryover cap. Flexibility elements such as flexible hours complement the core leave offering.
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The Company
What We Do
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide.
Why Work With Us
What makes Shield AI special is our people. We unlock the power of autonomy, and in the face of overwhelming odds and challenges, we find ways to win and make a difference for our customers. We bring together software, AI, and aerospace engineering disciplines to deploy the most intelligent aviation capabilities in the world.
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