# Director, Mission Systems at Shield AI

- Company: Shield AI
- What the company does: Autonomy for the world. Backed by a16z.
- Company website: https://shield.ai
- Type: Startups (AI role)
- Level: Principal and up
- Location: Washington, D.C.
- Work setup: On-site
- Pay: $225K to $340K base salary per year (USD)
- Posted: 2026-09-11
- Apply by: 2026-10-26
- Apply: https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/86435780-023c-4e55-9e82-86f97157aeac
- Page: https://www.1752.vc/careers/jobs/shield-ai-director-mission-systems/

## About the role

Are you a mission-driven engineering leader passionate about developing advanced autonomous aircraft? Do you want to help deliver capabilities that provide decisive advantage in contested environments? Shield AI may be the place for you.

## What they're looking for

- Lead and develop a multidisciplinary organization spanning operational analysis, survivability, communications, and integrated mission systems
- Establish clear priorities, accountability, organizational objectives, and operating rhythms that enable teams to execute effectively
- Oversee the development of integrated mission-system architectures encompassing sensors, payloads, avionics, weapons, secure communications, autonomy, and aircraft survivability
- Direct modeling, simulation, wargaming, and system-of-systems analysis to evaluate mission effectiveness, operational performance, emerging threats, and aircraft design alternatives
- Lead cross-functional trade studies that balance mission capability, survivability, technical risk, cost, schedule, manufacturability, and program maturity
- Ensure disciplined execution from requirements definition and architecture development through hardware-in-the-loop testing, signature validation, flight test, certification, and fielding

Tags: X-BAT Engineering - Mechanical