Required qualifications:
- Bachelor’s or Master's Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
- 10+ years of experience in technical program management or managing studies or projects.
- Defense, national security, or aerospace domain familiarity through employment or education.
- Proven track record of leading and facilitating cross-functional teams.
- Self-starter with a proven track record of forging clarity and structure in the face of ambiguous or dynamic constraints.
- World-class analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to quickly synthesize disparate viewpoints to deliver well-informed, data-backed decisions.
- Relentless learner who can develop specialized knowledge in niche domains.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Active Secret clearance and eligibility for Top Secret.
- Experiencing owning and driving technical projects that balance engineering development realities against the speed of business growth.
- Experience translating technical information and customer needs into comprehensible product narratives.
- Experience conducting product, technology, and market discovery with subject matter experts.
- Active Top Secret clearance and eligibility for SCI.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field
- 10+ years of experience in technical program management or managing studies or projects
- Defense, national security, or aerospace domain familiarity through employment or education
- Proven track record of leading and facilitating cross-functional teams
- Ability to create clarity and structure amid ambiguous or dynamic constraints
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including synthesizing disparate viewpoints into data-backed decisions
- Ability to develop specialized knowledge in niche domains
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Active Secret clearance and eligibility for Top Secret
- Experience owning and driving technical projects that balance engineering development realities with business growth
- Experience translating technical information and customer needs into comprehensible product narratives
- Experience conducting product, technology, and market discovery with subject matter experts
- Active Top Secret clearance and eligibility for SCI
What the Team is Saying
Shield Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, and vision coverage are described as strong and affordable, and offerings include a mental-health assistance program. Overall impressions point to good plan value for many employees.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with employer matching is highlighted positively, with accounts describing a company match and favorable experiences. Current match formulas and vesting are noted as worth confirming.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Full-time hires receive equity (often via RSUs), positioned as a meaningful component of total rewards. A double-trigger structure is noted as potentially deferring taxes until a liquidity event.
Shield Insights
What We Do
At Shield 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 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 Teams
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Shield Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
