Shield AI is a venture-backed defence technology company building intelligent autonomous systems for aircraft. Our mission is to protect service members and civilians through AI and autonomy.
We’re looking for a Technical Program Manager to join our Port Melbourne team, leading the development, integration, and deployment of the world’s best AI pilots across a range of transformative autonomous systems (UAVs, USVs, UUVs).
This is a high-impact, hands-on role working at the centre of our growing Australian operations. You’ll manage complex engineering programmes from early concept through to field testing and deployment — and work directly with customers, defence stakeholders, and internal teams to make it happen.
What you'll do:
- Lead and deliver end-to-end technical program management leverage your industry knowledge to shape/define program and organizational objectives
- Oversee the full programme lifecycle – initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure – ensuring exceptional outcomes.
- Fulfil contractual and customer deliverables with precision, timeliness, and clarity.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including government, defence, suppliers, and technical teams.
- Operate with sensitivity to cultural, political, and military dynamics across domestic and international partnerships.
- Conduct critical path analysis, manage earned value tracking, and report on programme health metrics.
- Proactively identify and mitigate risks and blockers.
- Lead organised, efficient meetings with clear actions and follow-up.
- Support business development efforts, including EOIs, RFTs, RFIs, proposals, and unsolicited submissions.
Required qualifications:
- Significant experience as a technical project or programme manager in complex engineering or technology domains.
- Proven track record of delivering complex, cross-functional projects aligned with long-term business strategy.
- Experience managing 0→1 product development cycles.
- Strong commercial understanding of project financials, including earned value management, estimates at completion, and contract data requirements.
- Proficiency in project management tools (e.g. Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Vena, Salesforce).
- Experience working with or within the Australian Defence Force.
- Outstanding communication, leadership, organisation, and influencing skills.
- A proactive, dependable, and collaborative mindset — you work hard, uphold high standards, and support your team.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience with software or autonomy development programmes.
- Familiarity with the ASDEFCON (or equivalent) contracting suite.
- Exposure to multi-national teams, flight test campaigns, or airworthiness certification.
- PMP or Certified Scrum Master (CSM) accreditation.
- Experience working with or managing international defence related projects.
Skills Required
- Significant experience as a technical project or programme manager in complex engineering or technology domains
- Proven track record of delivering complex, cross-functional projects aligned with long-term business strategy
- Experience managing 0->1 product development cycles
- Strong commercial understanding of project financials, including earned value management, estimates at completion, and contract data requirements
- Proficiency in project management tools (Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Vena, Salesforce)
- Experience working with or within the Australian Defence Force
- Outstanding communication, leadership, organisation, and influencing skills
- Proactive, dependable, and collaborative mindset
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
