Job Description
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With nine offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Job Description:
The Director of Applications Engineering will lead Shield AI’s global team of Hivemind Application Engineers responsible for deploying Hivemind with customers across defense and allied nations. This leader will own technical customer success from onboarding through operational deployment—ensuring mission outcomes, technical excellence, and value realization at scale.
This role requires a blend of technical depth, customer empathy, and organizational leadership to drive Hivemind’s adoption across unmanned platforms worldwide.
Required qualifications:
- M.S degree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics or a related field required; Master’s or MBA preferred.
- 15+ years in customer-facing technical leadership (solutions/support).
- Proven success leading globally distributed technical teams.
- Deep understanding of enterprise software integration, SDKs, and mission-critical systems—ideally within AI/ML, autonomy, or defense technology sectors.
- Strong program and project management skills; experience overseeing complex deployments.
- Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage both technical and executive stakeholders.
- Experience working with defense primes or international government customers is highly desirable.
- Customer-Obsessed: Passionate about understanding customer needs and driving their success.
- Strategic Thinker: Ability to see the big picture, anticipate future customer needs, and align enablement efforts with business goals.
- Execution-Focused Leader: Proven ability to translate strategy into action and deliver results.
- Collaborative & Influential: Adept at working cross-functionally and building strong internal and external relationships.
- Technically Credible: Comfortable diving into technical details up to and including reviewing code and engaging with engineering teams.
- Adaptable & Resilient: Thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
Preferred qualifications:
- Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics or a related field required;
- MBA
- Hands on development experience in C/C++
- Hands on edge autonomy applications development experience
#LI-DM2
#LF
Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
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Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.
Requirements
Required qualifications:
- M.S degree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics or a related field required; Master’s or MBA preferred.
- 15+ years in customer-facing technical leadership (solutions/support).
- Proven success leading globally distributed technical teams.
- Deep understanding of enterprise software integration, SDKs, and mission-critical systems—ideally within AI/ML, autonomy, or defense technology sectors.
- Strong program and project management skills; experience overseeing complex deployments.
- Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage both technical and executive stakeholders.
- Experience working with defense primes or international government customers is highly desirable.
- Customer-Obsessed: Passionate about understanding customer needs and driving their success.
- Strategic Thinker: Ability to see the big picture, anticipate future customer needs, and align enablement efforts with business goals.
- Execution-Focused Leader: Proven ability to translate strategy into action and deliver results.
- Collaborative & Influential: Adept at working cross-functionally and building strong internal and external relationships.
- Technically Credible: Comfortable diving into technical details up to and including reviewing code and engaging with engineering teams.
- Adaptable & Resilient: Thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
Preferred qualifications:
- Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics or a related field required;
- MBA
- Hands on development experience in C/C++
- Hands on edge autonomy applications development experience
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