We are seeking a Senior PX Program Manager to drive the successful delivery, adoption, and continuous improvement of high-impact people initiatives across the organization. In this role, you will partner closely with PX leaders and cross-functional stakeholders to plan, coordinate, and execute complex programs that enhance organizational effectiveness, elevate the employee experience, and align with business priorities.
The ideal candidate brings strong expertise in program and project management, change management, and stakeholder engagement. You have a proven track record of driving execution in fast-paced, dynamic environments and can effectively translate strategy into action. You will play a key role in enabling PX functional leaders by developing deployment strategies, managing end-to-end project plans, driving cross-functional alignment, and ensuring organizational readiness, adoption, and long-term sustainability.
This is a full-time opportunity to advance critical PX initiatives, strengthen operational rigor, and build scalable processes that support continued organizational growth.
What You Will Do
Program Delivery & Execution
* Lead the planning, coordination, execution, and ongoing management of complex PX initiatives and cross-functional programs.
* Define program scope, objectives, milestones, timelines, risks, dependencies, and success measures with PX leaders.
* Maintain integrated program plans and operating rhythms, monitoring progress and managing risks and issues.
* Identify and implement process improvements during project execution where there are opportunities to increase clarity, speed, or quality.
Change Management & Adoption
* Design and implement change management strategies that drive successful adoption, sustainability, and leader effectiveness.
* Assess organizational impacts and readiness, and develop communication and engagement plans that support awareness and adoption.
* Partner with leaders and subject matter experts to facilitate change and minimize disruption.
* Track adoption and effectiveness and integrate lessons learned into future initiatives.
Stakeholder Management & Collaboration
* Build strong, trust-based relationships across PX functions and business teams.
* Facilitate stakeholder alignment, decision-making, and issue resolution across multiple workstreams.
* Coordinate cross-functional efforts to ensure cohesive program delivery and integration.
* Provide clear, concise, executive-ready communications on program status, risks, outcomes, and recommendations.
Governance, Reporting, and Program Development
* Establish governance models, operating rhythms, and reporting mechanisms for strategic PX programs.
* Develop dashboards, status reports, and executive updates that clearly convey health and progress.
* Maintain key artifacts, including action plans, decision logs, and risk registers.
* Optimize PX structures, standards, and workflows where there are opportunities to build more scalable, repeatable approaches.
Required Qualifications
* Bachelor’s degree - preferably in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or equivalent experience.
* 8+ years of experience leading complex programs, transformation initiatives, or organizational change efforts in an HR, PX, or related environment.
* Demonstrated experience managing enterprise-wide, cross-functional projects with multiple stakeholders in high-growth or similarly complex environments.
* Strong program and project management skills, including planning, governance, risk management, and execution across multiple workstreams.
* Hands-on experience developing and implementing change management strategies, including stakeholder analysis, communications, training, and reinforcement plans.
* Experience working directly with PX/HR/People teams on initiatives such as performance management, talent development, PX systems, or employee experience programs.
* Ability to use quantitative and qualitative data (e.g., survey results, adoption metrics, KPIs) to inform program design, decision-making, and iteration.
* Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence and drive outcomes without direct authority.
* Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities, with a track record of bringing structure and operating rigor to ambiguous environments.
* Demonstrated ability to build program frameworks, playbooks, or toolkits that scale PX initiatives across multiple teams or locations.
Preferred Qualifications
* Experience in high-growth technology, aerospace, defense, or similarly complex environments.
* Formal training or certification in program and/or change management (e.g., PMP, Prosci, Agile-related credentials).
* Experience implementing or optimizing PX/HR systems and tools (e.g., HRIS, performance management, engagement or survey platforms).
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in HR, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or equivalent experience.
- 8+ years leading complex programs, transformation initiatives, or organizational change efforts in HR/PX or related environment.
- Demonstrated experience managing enterprise-wide, cross-functional projects with multiple stakeholders.
- Strong program and project management skills including planning, governance, risk management, and multi-workstream execution.
- Hands-on experience developing and implementing change management strategies (stakeholder analysis, communications, training, reinforcement).
- Experience working directly with PX/HR teams on performance management, talent development, PX systems, or employee experience programs.
- Ability to use quantitative and qualitative data (survey results, adoption metrics, KPIs) to inform program design and iteration.
- Excellent communication, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills; ability to influence without direct authority.
- Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities; ability to bring structure to ambiguous environments.
- Demonstrated ability to build program frameworks, playbooks, or toolkits that scale PX initiatives across teams and locations.
- Experience implementing or optimizing PX/HR systems and tools (HRIS, performance management, engagement or survey platforms).
- Formal training or certification in program and/or change management (e.g., PMP, Prosci, Agile-related credentials).
- Experience in high-growth technology, aerospace, defense, or similarly complex environments.
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials describe excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage alongside a mental‑health EAP. Site perks such as an onsite gym in DC and a gym discount in San Diego support a health‑focused offering.
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Retirement Support — Careers materials highlight a 401(k) with company match as part of the standard package. A Total Rewards overview emphasizes retirement features within a broader, transparent compensation view.
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Career-Linked Recognition & Rewards — Compensation for in‑demand technical and senior go‑to‑market roles is described as competitive, with visible engineering ranges and top‑end packages. This points to meaningful upside tied to role, level, and scarce skills.
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.
