Shield AI is hiring a Senior Solutions Engineer to support technical sales for a flagship aircraft program currently in early design and development. This role requires a proven leader who has supported large-scale domestic and international defense programs in the conceptual or pre-solicitation phase — ideally in tactical aviation or high-performance unmanned systems. This position will serve as a key technical interface to senior government stakeholders, business development, and engineering leadership, shaping requirements and aligning our product roadmap with future mission needs.
What you'll do:
- Serve as the technical lead supporting pre-sales engagements for a new advanced aircraft platform targeting high-end tactical missions.
- Collaborate with senior leaders across Business Development, Engineering, and Product Management to influence product definition, capability prioritization, and solution alignment with customer operational concepts.
- Support technical capture for domestic and international opportunities in early acquisition phases (e.g., AOAs, RFIs, Requirement Drafts, white papers, unsolicited proposals).
- Shape and translate customer needs into actionable system requirements, roadmaps, and program strategies.
- Develop compelling technical narratives and lead content development for briefings, RFIs, white papers, and proposal volumes.
- Build and maintain trusted relationships with customer technical stakeholders (including U.S. DoD program offices and foreign governments).
- Contribute to internal investment decisions by assessing market signals, competitor activity, and technical feasibility.
- Represent the broader Shield AI solution suite (including autonomy, AI pilots, ISR systems, and mission software) across the pre-sales lifecycle.
Required qualifications:
- 5+ years in technical sales, capture, or engineering roles in defense or aerospace industries, with significant experience interfacing with U.S. DoD and/or international ministries of defense.
- Demonstrated experience supporting government sales in pre-prototype or pre-solicitation phases.
- Demonstrated excellence in presentation skills, organization of technical ideas, and narrative building for a variety of stakeholders at leadership levels with direct customers.
- Experience with programs involving tactical aircraft, fighter jets, or group 5 UAS.
- Proven success contributing to deals valued over $15M.
- Strong systems-level understanding of aircraft design tradeoffs, customer CONOPS, and mission-based engineering.
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, applied science, or equivalent technical discipline.
- Outstanding communication skills, with the ability to clearly translate technical information into compelling sales narratives for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Ability to manage ambiguity, balance competing priorities, and operate independently in a fast-paced startup environment.
- Active U.S. security clearance or ability to obtain one.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience working at a major defense prime (e.g., Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, Anduril, RTX) or USG in a technical business development, engineering, product management, advanced programs, or strategic pursuits capacity.
- Background in multi-domain operations, autonomy, or networked ISR systems.
- Familiarity with key acquisition programs (e.g., NGAD, CCA, FMS/DCS pathways).
- Advanced degree in engineering or business with applicable focus areas.
- Prior military service experience.
- Prefer relocation to Dallas, TX or Washington DC
Skills Required
- 5+ years of experience in technical sales, capture, or engineering roles in the defense or aerospace industries
- Significant experience interfacing with U.S. Department of Defense and/or international ministries of defense
- Experience supporting government sales during pre-prototype or pre-solicitation phases
- Excellent presentation, organization, and technical narrative-building skills
- Experience with tactical aircraft, fighter jets, or Group 5 unmanned aircraft systems
- Proven contribution to deals valued over $15 million
- Systems-level understanding of aircraft design tradeoffs, customer CONOPS, and mission-based engineering
- Bachelor's degree in engineering, applied science, or an equivalent technical discipline
- Outstanding communication skills for translating technical information into sales narratives
- Ability to manage ambiguity, balance competing priorities, and work independently in a fast-paced startup environment
- Active U.S. security clearance or ability to obtain one
- Experience at a major defense prime or U.S. government in technical business development, engineering, product management, advanced programs, or strategic pursuits
- Background in multidomain operations, autonomy, or networked ISR systems
- Familiarity with NGAD, CCA, FMS, or DCS acquisition pathways
- Advanced degree in engineering or business with an applicable focus
- Prior military service experience
- Relocation to Dallas, Texas, or Washington, D.C.
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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