The Demonstration Team - Senior Associate Air Vehicle Operator (AVO) is responsible for planning, executing, and leading domestic and international unmanned aircraft operations in support of customer demonstrations, evaluations, training events, operational exercises, and business development activities.
This position serves as one of the primary customer-facing representatives of the company and plays a critical role in showcasing the capabilities of the V-BAT system to military, government, and commercial customers worldwide. The successful candidate must consistently demonstrate exceptional aviation judgment, professionalism, technical expertise, and adaptability while operating in dynamic and often austere environments.
Unlike traditional flight operations, Demonstration Team AVOs are expected to independently execute missions with limited support while simultaneously serving as operators, instructors, maintainers, mission planners, technical advisors, and customer liaisons. Success in this role requires the ability to rapidly solve complex technical and operational problems while maintaining a relentless commitment to safety and customer satisfaction.
The ideal candidate thrives in fast-paced environments, enjoys frequent travel, embraces uncertainty, and is motivated by building customer confidence through exceptional operational execution.
What you'll do:
- Customer-Focused Flight Operations- Safely executes complex demonstrations while building customer confidence through professional, disciplined, and mission-focused flight operations.
- Mission Planning & Operational Leadership- Plans and leads all aspects of flight operations including risk management, airspace coordination, contingency planning, crew coordination, and mission execution.
- Technical Troubleshooting & Systems Knowledge- Rapidly identifies, diagnoses, and resolves aircraft, payload, datalink, and ground system issues to maximize mission success and aircraft availability.
- Instruction, Mentorship & Team Development- Develops customers and teammates through classroom instruction, simulator training, live-flight instruction, mentorship, and standardization.
- Adaptability & Independent Decision-Making- Thrives in rapidly changing domestic and international environments by exercising sound judgment, solving problems independently, and maintaining operational effectiveness under pressure.
Required Qualifications:
Minimum 1,000 documented unmanned flight hours or 250 manned flight hours
Ability to obtain and maintain an FAA Class II Medical Certificate
Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret DoD Security Clearance
Ability to pass required background investigations, drug screenings, and customer medical/dental requirements
Willingness and ability to travel 60–75%, including frequent CONUS and OCONUS deployments
Demonstrated experience operating independently in dynamic, high-tempo, and austere environments
Strong aviation decision-making, operational risk management, and safety mindset
Excellent verbal communication and professional customer engagement skills
Preferred Qualifications:
FAA Private Pilot Certificate (PPL) or FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate
FAA Instrument Rating and/or Commercial Pilot Certificate
Previous instructor qualification in manned or unmanned aviation
Prior military aviation or UAS operational experience
Experience supporting DoD, allied, or international military operations
Maritime or shipboard UAS operational experience
Experience leading customer demonstrations, operational evaluations, or flight operations
Experience troubleshooting aircraft, payload, datalink, or ground control systems
Familiarity with ISR payloads, SATCOM, BVLOS operations, and tactical communications
Experience coordinating international deployments, logistics, or expeditionary operations
Skills Required
- Minimum 1,000 documented unmanned flight hours or 250 manned flight hours
- Ability to obtain and maintain an FAA Class II Medical Certificate
- Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret DoD Security Clearance
- Ability to pass background investigations, drug screenings, and customer medical/dental requirements
- Willingness and ability to travel 60-75%, including frequent domestic and international deployments
- Experience operating independently in dynamic, high-tempo, and austere environments
- Strong aviation decision-making, operational risk management, and safety mindset
- Excellent verbal communication and professional customer engagement skills
- FAA Private Pilot Certificate or FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate
- FAA Instrument Rating and/or Commercial Pilot Certificate
- Previous instructor qualification in manned or unmanned aviation
- Prior military aviation or UAS operational experience
- Experience supporting DoD, allied, or international military operations
- Maritime or shipboard UAS operational experience
- Experience leading customer demonstrations, operational evaluations, or flight operations
- Experience troubleshooting aircraft, payload, datalink, or ground control systems
- Familiarity with ISR payloads, SATCOM, BVLOS operations, and tactical communications
- Experience coordinating international deployments, logistics, or expeditionary operations
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as excellent, with dental/vision and mental‑health support, and ancillary protections like life and disability appearing in benefit summaries. The breadth and perceived affordability of coverage are highlighted as a standout component of the package.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is featured alongside enhanced maternity benefits, fertility and childcare support, and onsite resources such as a Mother’s Room. These elements are positioned as competitive and above the minimal baseline for the company’s stage.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity is granted to all full‑time hires, with RSUs, double‑trigger tax timing, and tools to model scenarios (e.g., through Carta Tax). Communications also reference a transition from options to RSUs, reinforcing access and maturity of ownership programs.
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.
