Director, Mission Control (R4809)

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 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 Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

Job Description:

Shield AI is seeking a Director of Mission Control to serve as the enterprise authority for fleet allocation, configuration posture, and operational prioritization across all Aircraft Division product lines.

Mission Control is responsible for ensuring aircraft, ranges, and operational resources are allocated in alignment with enterprise priorities, contractual obligations, revenue objectives, and mission readiness requirements. This role serves as the authoritative arbiter of competing fleet demands, balancing customer commitments, test requirements, training events, deal capture activities, and long-term technology roadmap objectives.

The Director will maintain the enterprise fleet ledger, supervise configuration posture decisions, validate operational requirements, and oversee range allocation and mission approval processes. This role requires deep understanding of Shield AI’s business model, contract structures, market dynamics, aircraft configurations, and cross-functional interdependencies. Decisions made within Mission Control carry significant operational and financial impact.

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Aviation Management, Engineering, Business, Operations Research, or related field.
• 12+ years of experience in aerospace, defense, aviation operations, program management, or enterprise resource allocation roles.
• Demonstrated experience making high-impact operational decisions with financial, contractual, or revenue implications.
• Deep understanding of aircraft operations, configuration management, and mission planning principles.
• Proven ability to balance competing enterprise priorities in high-tempo, high-stakes environments.
• Experience interfacing with senior leadership, program managers, business development teams, and operational leaders.
• Strong analytical and decision-making capabilities with the ability to synthesize operational, financial, and strategic inputs.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to adjudicate resource conflicts with clarity and authority.
• Experience developing governance structures, operational processes, and decision frameworks.

Preferred qualifications:

• Advanced degree (MBA, M.S. in Engineering Management, or related field).
• Experience in fleet management, air operations centers, mission planning cells, or enterprise scheduling organizations.
• Prior military experience in aviation operations, air tasking orders (ATO), or operational command centers.
• Familiarity with revenue recognition models, government contract structures, and deal capture strategies.
• Experience supporting multi-product or multi-theater aircraft operations.
• Knowledge of range management, airspace coordination, and regulatory approval processes.
• Experience building enterprise dashboards, fleet tracking systems, or operational data tools.

$160,000 - $250,000 a year #LI-JM1 #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. We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.