A Senior Associate V-BAT Operator, AVO, assigned to Field Integration and Test (FIT), supports V-BAT field integration activities and flight operations in CONUS and OCONUS environments. This role supports customer site surveys, system installations, calibration events, aircraft operational checks, training support, and operational handoff activities in coordination with Engineering and Customer Operations teams.
This position extends beyond traditional AVO duties. FIT AVOs support site survey planning and execution, installation readiness, aircraft and ground system setup, calibration support, and post-calibration operational checks. After calibration activities, the FIT AVO works with Deployment Operations to verify aircraft readiness, confirm operational usability and set deployed operators up for successful customer operations.
FIT AVOs support DoD, coalition, and international customers in maritime and land-based environments. This includes austere, high-tempo, shipboard, expeditionary, and customer test environments. Senior Associates are expected to model professionalism, enforce safety standards, mentor junior operators, and contribute to system readiness, customer confidence, and mission success.
FIT AVOs may also provide cross-functional support within Customer Operations and support Production Flight Test, Experimental Flight Test, and demonstration activities as required and when team bandwidth permits.
What you'll do:
Field integration support: Supports site surveys, installations, calibrations, aircraft operational checks, and customer handoff activities while maintaining safe and effective V-BAT operations
Operational leadership: Leads flight operations and field events with autonomy, sound judgment, and disciplined risk management
Systems troubleshooting: Diagnoses and resolves issues across aircraft, payloads, ground systems, datalinks, LAN-based networks, MANET networks, RF communications, SATCOM, and support equipment in field conditions
Cross-functional coordination: Works directly with FIT, Deployment Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, Training, Customer Operations, and customers to close issues and drive operational readiness
Instructor and mentorship capability: Trains, evaluates, and develops operators while reinforcing standards, TTPs, checklist discipline, and safe operating practices
Required Qualifications:
Demonstrated instructor experience (manned or unmanned aviation)
FAA Private Pilot License (PPL)
FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate
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 check, drug screening, and customer-required medical/dental screenings
Willingness to travel on short notice 50 to 75 percent in support of CONUS and OCONUS site surveys, installs, calibrations, flight operations, customer events, and deployment support
Ability to climb ship masts, vertical ladders, and rooftop access points; work in confined or tight areas; and lift and carry 50 pounds or more in land-based and maritime environments
Proven ability to lead and operate independently in small teams, including austere, shipboard, expeditionary, and high-tempo environments
Strong aviation judgment, decision-making, crew coordination, and risk management skills
Ability to troubleshoot aircraft, payload, ground control, communications, network, and support equipment issues at the field level
Preferred Qualifications:
FAA Instrument Rating and/or Commercial Pilot License
Experience operating as aircrew on manned aircraft
Experience with MANET, MPU5, RF communications, Starlink, Starshield, and SATCOM integration or setup
Prior military service, especially with overseas, maritime, or deployed operations
Maritime or shipboard UAS operational experience
Previous experience as a Site Lead, Crew Lead, Instructor Operator, or aviation operations lead
Experience supporting system installation, calibration, test events, or field acceptance activities
Experience troubleshooting RF, C2, SATCOM, MANET, Starlink, Starshield, ISR payload, or ground control system issues
Skills Required
- Demonstrated instructor experience in manned or unmanned aviation
- FAA Private Pilot License
- FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate
- 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 check, drug screening, and customer-required medical and dental screenings
- Willingness to travel on short notice 50 to 75 percent in support of CONUS and OCONUS operations
- Ability to climb ship masts, vertical ladders, and rooftops, work in confined areas, and lift or carry 50 pounds or more
- Ability to lead and operate independently in small teams and austere, shipboard, expeditionary, and high-tempo environments
- Strong aviation judgment, decision-making, crew coordination, and risk management skills
- Ability to troubleshoot aircraft, payload, ground control, communications, network, and support equipment
- FAA Instrument Rating and/or Commercial Pilot License
- Experience operating as aircrew on manned aircraft
- Experience with MANET, MPU5, RF communications, Starlink, Starshield, and SATCOM
- Prior military service, especially overseas, maritime, or deployed operations
- Maritime or shipboard UAS operational experience
- Experience as a Site Lead, Crew Lead, Instructor Operator, or aviation operations lead
- Experience supporting system installation, calibration, test events, or field acceptance activities
- Experience troubleshooting RF, C2, SATCOM, MANET, Starlink, Starshield, ISR payload, or ground control system issues
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.
