As the Senior Director of Hivemind Program Finance, you will lead the Hivemind program finance activities of the team in support of program execution. The optimal executive leader is someone with sharp analytical instincts and a passion for driving business performance to join our high-performing finance team. In this fast-paced, constantly evolving environment, you will enhance the finance team and develop our talent—you’ll influence decisions, uncover opportunities, and partner with leaders across engineering, operations, and product to deliver actionable financial intelligence and insights. Your work will help optimize performance and steer one of our most critical business areas toward sustained growth.
Supporting our fastest-growing dynamic Hivemind business unit, this is a high-visibility, high-impact role where your insights will directly shape strategy and fuel innovation. You will lead the engagement with the program management team to support the execution of our projects to forecast and achieve the desired financial outcomes. If you want to shape the work to support a truly impactful international Finance team, come transform and lead with us!
Expectations of Leadership Position:
- Advise the Hivemind Program Management leadership on all financial matters, build synergist relationships to enable all parties to succeed financially as we execute.
- Be a collaborative thought leader and partner with Hivemind VPGM & Leadership team
- Mature the processes, policies, templates, and tools used in program finance
- Establish methods of executing assigned areas that enable sustainable growth (continuous improvement model)
- Contribute to the success of the broader finance organization (Accounting, Operations Finance, FP&A) by leading cross-functional improvements that allow Shield AI to become industry leaders
- Enhance existing framework to ensure programs achieve Orders, Revenue, EBITDA, Cash goals.
- Direct report to the Vice President of Finance, Program Finance Aircraft & Product and a member of the program finance leadership team
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 10-15 progressive experience in financial analysis, corporate finance, program business management or FP&A years of related experience.
- 8 or more years of Aerospace & Defense industry experience
- Experience with some or all these areas: Financial Planning & Analysis, Program Controls, Pricing, Earned Value Management, Budgets & Rates, ERP transformations, Accounting, FAR Compliance
- Strong understanding of US GAAP, with practical experience applying accounting principles in a government contracting or manufacturing environment
- Familiarity with cost accounting concepts and government contract structures (e.g., T&M, CPFF, FFP)
- Advanced proficiency in Excel, financial modeling, AI tool suites, and data analysis
- Strong working knowledge of Power BI and comfort with data visualization tools
- Solid understanding of financial statements and business metrics
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaborate cross-functionally in a fast-moving environment
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to present complex financial data to non-financial stakeholders
- Located in DC (Crystal City, Arlington, VA).
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience in a rapidly growing company or with integration post M&A
- Provided financial support to a Manufacturing and/or software focused business
- Demonstrated skillset in executing non-conventional USG procurements and modeling associated financials
- MBA or Master’s degree in a related discipline
- Experience supporting operations or customer-facing teams in a manufacturing, aerospace, or tech domestic and international environments
- Exposure to Microsoft Fabric, Power Query, DAX, or other data transformation and modeling tools
- Familiarity with ERP systems (e.g., Costpoint) and planning tools (e.g., Anaplan) and Oracle ERP/EVM/MRP systems
- Track record of being a high performer with a bias for action, intellectual curiosity, and attention to detail
- Passion for using data to tell a story and drive strategic decisions
- Working knowledge of accounting, demonstrated ability to lead projects that blend and bridge the lines between program finance and other financial functions
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree
- 10-15 years of progressive experience in financial analysis, corporate finance, program business management, or FP&A
- 8 or more years of aerospace and defense industry experience
- Experience with financial planning and analysis, program controls, pricing, earned value management, budgets and rates, ERP transformations, accounting, or FAR compliance
- Strong understanding and practical application of US GAAP in government contracting or manufacturing environments
- Familiarity with cost accounting concepts and government contract structures, including T&M, CPFF, and FFP
- Advanced proficiency in Excel, financial modeling, AI tool suites, and data analysis
- Strong working knowledge of Power BI and data visualization tools
- Understanding of financial statements and business metrics
- Ability to work independently and collaborate cross-functionally in a fast-moving environment
- Excellent communication skills and ability to present complex financial data to non-financial stakeholders
- Located in DC, Crystal City, or Arlington, Virginia
- Experience in a rapidly growing company or post-merger and acquisition integration
- Financial support experience for manufacturing or software-focused businesses
- Experience with non-conventional US government procurements and associated financial modeling
- MBA or master's degree in a related discipline
- Experience supporting operations or customer-facing teams in manufacturing, aerospace, or technology environments
- Exposure to Microsoft Fabric, Power Query, DAX, or similar data transformation and modeling tools
- Familiarity with ERP and planning systems such as Costpoint, Anaplan, Oracle ERP, EVM, or MRP
- Track record of high performance, intellectual curiosity, attention to detail, and bias for action
- Ability to use data storytelling to drive strategic decisions
- Working knowledge of accounting and experience leading cross-functional finance projects
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage includes medical, dental, vision, and mental-health support, with company materials describing excellent coverage. Feedback suggests these offerings are comprehensive and consistently highlighted across official and third-party benefit lists.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity is granted to all full-time hires, with RSU structures and tools like Carta Tax intended to improve understanding and tax timing. Feedback suggests this broad-based ownership approach is a notable component of total rewards.
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Parental & Family Support — Benefits include paid parental leave, fertility support, childcare benefits, family medical leave, and onsite resources such as a Mother's Room. Feedback suggests the family-oriented offerings are more expansive than basic coverage.
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.
