S

Shield AI

Builds autonomous aircraft for defense

Product Portfolio Analyst - X-BAT Family of Systems

Full-TimeUpdated
No salary listed
Mid
Bachelor's, Master's
San Diego, CA, USA
In Person
Sales & Account ManagementSales Operations
No H1B Sponsorship
US Citizenship Required

About the job

Requirements
  • A bachelor's degree with at least 4 years of relevant experience, or a master's degree with at least 2 years of relevant experience.
  • Experience in business development, capture, sales operations, program management, finance, consulting, or another analytical operating environment.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including evaluating incomplete or changing data and developing actionable recommendations.
  • Experience using Salesforce to analyze opportunity data, maintain pipeline visibility, develop reports or dashboards, and support business-planning decisions.
  • Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint, including developing concise analyses, trackers, dashboards, and briefing materials.
  • Ability to manage data quality, establish reporting standards, and coordinate updates across multiple record owners or stakeholders.
  • Experience evaluating opportunities based on timing, value, probability, customer funding, strategic relevance, and expected business impact.
  • Experience leading and delivering cross-functional deliverables, decision points, and follow-up actions across multiple concurrent efforts.
  • U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
Responsibilities
  • Maintain an integrated view of the X-BAT Family of Systems opportunity pipeline across near-term, mid-term, and long-range pursuits.
  • Analyze opportunities using timing, estimated value, probability of win, market attractiveness, strategic relevance, expected revenue contribution, and resourcing requirements.
  • Partner with the X-BAT Family of Systems Capture Organization to identify priority opportunities, inform portfolio trade-space decisions, and recommend actions to strengthen the pipeline.
  • Track changes in opportunity value, timing, stage progression, probability of win, customer funding, and other factors affecting forecast confidence.
  • Identify pipeline gaps, timing shortfalls, concentration risks, single-point dependencies, and opportunities lacking sufficient capture activity or next steps.
  • Recommend actions to create pipeline resilience, including alternate pursuits, adjacent customers, related mission areas, acquisition pathways, partner opportunities, and additional sources of demand.
  • Maintain a forward-looking view of the X-BAT Family of Systems opportunity space across a multi-year horizon and help identify and track actions to mature early opportunities into capture efforts.
  • Serve as the X-BAT Family of Systems Capture organization's lead for pipeline-data integrity, reporting standards, and Salesforce opportunity-management discipline.
  • Establish and maintain common expectations for opportunity stages, required data fields, forecast assumptions, probability assessments, next steps, and update cadence.
  • Review Salesforce opportunity records for accuracy, completeness, consistency, and credibility, and coordinate with account and opportunity owners to correct gaps, stale data, and unsupported assumptions.
  • Develop and maintain dashboards, trackers, and pipeline-review products that provide visibility into portfolio health, capture status, forecast changes, and key risks.
  • Partner with enterprise business-systems teams, as required, to improve reports, dashboards, workflows, and data structures supporting X-BAT Family of Systems pipeline management.
  • Maintain common definitions, reporting guidance, and pipeline-management best practices across the organization.
  • Partner with Finance to connect Salesforce opportunity data with bookings assumptions, revenue forecasts, customer funding expectations, and long-range financial plans.
  • Reconcile pipeline assumptions, forecast timing, probability assessments, and anticipated award values with financial-planning inputs and revenue-recognition assumptions.
  • Support scenario analysis on the effects of opportunity delays, funding changes, competitive losses, scope changes, and alternate capture outcomes on the forecast.
  • Help maintain a recurring pipeline-to-finance review cadence and track resulting actions, decisions, and assumption changes.
  • Identify risks to current and future pipeline health, including schedule uncertainty, customer-funding risk, acquisition delays, competitive pressure, overreliance on a limited number of pursuits, and insufficient capture activity.
  • Develop risk-mitigation recommendations and contingency plans with capture leads, account owners, Finance, business development, programs, and other stakeholders.
  • Support recurring pipeline reviews through time-phased analyses and dashboards showing opportunity maturation, anticipated awards, bookings, backlog, revenue contribution, key decisions, and follow-up actions.
  • Maintain pipeline assumptions, opportunity histories, risk registers, and lessons learned from wins, losses, cancellations, and schedule slips.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience supporting U.S. Government capture, defense business development, or government-contracting pipeline management.
  • Aviation, aerospace, defense, autonomy, uncrewed systems, tactical aviation, mission systems, AI-enabled capability, or advanced-manufacturing experience.
  • Familiarity with DoD or U.S. Government acquisition processes, budget cycles, requirements development, solicitations, and program-of-record pathways.
  • Experience developing or improving Salesforce reports, dashboards, opportunity-management processes, data governance, workflow automation, or CRM reporting.
  • Experience supporting domestic and international defense pursuits, including Foreign Military Sales, Direct Commercial Sales, or allied defense-market development.

About the company

S

Shield AI

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cbWebsite

Shield AI builds autonomous aircraft and flight software for military and allied defense customers, with a focus on operations where conventional remote control breaks down. Its Hivemind AI pilot handles decisions during a mission, while the V-BAT aircraft gathers intelligence and locates targets. Aircraft makers use its software tools to develop and test their own autonomy, and its Aechelon business supplies visual and sensor simulation for pilot training. The company earns money from aircraft sales, autonomy software and contracted engineering and operational services. Shield AI was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

Series G

Total Funding

$3.3B

Headquarters

San Diego, CA

Founded

2015

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Deployed customers support production work: V-BAT serves U.S. Coast Guard maritime operations and all seven Marine Expeditionary Units.
  • Expansion has fresh capital: Shield AI closed $2 billion financing by June 2026, including $500 million preferred equity.
  • Aircraft careers are expanding: September 2026 X-BAT production hiring shifted to Shield AI's new site near Seattle.

What critics are saying

  • X-BAT commercialization takes years: September 2026 plans put production in 2029, with flight testing still ahead.
  • Air Force procurement preserves competition: its modular architecture separates Hivemind mission autonomy from the aircraft.
  • Dallas operations leadership requires office attendance: Shield AI's active Deployed Operations Manager role is listed as on-site.

What makes Shield AI unique

  • V-BAT fits crowded ship decks: its enclosed rotor supports unassisted launch and landing without exposed blades.
  • Customers own their autonomy: Hivemind Enterprise lets aircraft builders retain rights to the intellectual property they develop.
  • Simulation is an established business: Shield AI's Aechelon supports over 1,200 U.S. defense flight training systems.

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Benefits

  • Medical Insurance Coverage
  • Long Term Disability Insurance
  • Health Care FSA and Dependent Care FSA
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Subsidized Gym Membership
  • Pet Insurance
  • Competitive Compensation
  • Retirement Services
  • Life Insurance
  • Parental Leave
  • Bereavement Support
  • Flexible Work Hours

Growth & Insights and Company News

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

0%

2 year growth

-2%
AeroTime
Oct 29th, 2026
Leave a reply.

Leave a reply. Leonardo brings Shield AI's Hivemind to Royal Navy Proteus helicopter. October 29, 2026, 03:48 PDT Italian defense group Leonardo will use Shield AI's Hivemind software to develop additional autonomous capabilities for Proteus, the uncrewed helicopter demonstrator it built for the Royal Navy. According to the announcement, Leonardo engineers will use the Hivemind Software Development Kit (SDK) to build mission autonomy for rotary-wing operations, including anti-submarine warfare (ASW), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and logistics flights in contested environments. Neither company disclosed the value or duration of the agreement. Shield AI says partners using Hivemind can develop, test, and update their own autonomous pilots while retaining ownership of what they build. Tom Schaefer, Vice President of Hivemind Engineering at Shield AI, said Leonardo's engineers could adapt the software to their own mission sets and that "the work stays with them". Adam Wardrope, Vice President of Market Development for Helicopters in the UK at Leonardo, said the company could potentially extend its use of Hivemind to other programs in its rotary-wing portfolio. Proteus already flew with Leonardo-developed autonomy. Proteus made its maiden flight from Predannack airfield in Cornwall on January 16, 2026, operating its own flying controls while test pilots monitored it from the ground, the Royal Navy said. According to Shield AI, the autonomy used during Proteus' first flight was developed by Leonardo. Hivemind will support further development of those capabilities. The aircraft's modular bay can accommodate a payload of about one metric ton (approximately 2,200 pounds) or two standard NATO 463L pallets, with potential missions including ASW, airborne early warning, and intra-theater lift. Proteus was developed with the Royal Navy and UK Defence Innovation (UKDI). It supports the Royal Navy's Maritime Aviation Transformation (MATx) strategy, which sets out the service's aviation plans through 2040, including the integration of uncrewed systems alongside crewed aircraft in future naval air wings. Nigel Colman, Managing Director of Leonardo Helicopters UK, told AeroTime that Proteus could be configured to carry out search and rescue, Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW), and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. In total, Leonardo was tasked with 16 mission sets to look at. Hivemind expands across aircraft manufacturers. Leonardo is not the first aircraft manufacturer to license Hivemind to build its own autonomous capabilities. Shield AI announced a similar partnership with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) on March 20, 2025, to develop AI pilots for KAI's crewed-uncrewed teaming work. Shield AI is also developing its own aircraft, including the X-BAT vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) combat jet, for which the US Navy committed an additional $150 million on October 8, 2026.

Citybiz
Oct 29th, 2026
citybiz+ Dorm Room Fund raises $50M fund for student entrepreneurs.

citybiz+ Dorm Room Fund raises $50M fund for student entrepreneurs. October 29, 2026 Dorm Room Fund has raised a $50 million fund, quadrupling its previous pool as the AI boom drives demand for young founders and expands the influence of its 500-person alumni network. Dorm Room Fund's founding general partner Molly Fowler (r) with Caroline Toch, head of operations and community. (Courtesy: Dorm Room Fund) Dorm Room Fund, once viewed as a quirky experiment in student-led investing, is now riding the same artificial intelligence wave that has transformed much of Silicon Valley's dealmaking. The venture program recently raised a new $50 million fund, four times the size of its previous pool, as investor interest in young founders and recent graduates accelerated during the AI boom. The money will support startups created by college students as well as companies founded by members of Dorm Room Fund's alumni network, which now includes about 500 people across roughly 30 campuses. The firm began in 2011 as an initiative inside First Round Capital and later spun out as an independent operation. Its model is unusual in venture capital: undergraduate and graduate students are selected from applicants, trained in the basics of venture investing and then given responsibility for identifying deals. Each year, about 60 student investors work from campuses that include Stanford University and the University of Waterloo, meeting weekly and gathering at an annual off-site that resembles a junior version of the Sun Valley conference. Dorm Room Fund alumni include the coding startup Cursor, which was acquired by SpaceX, and the defense tech company Shield AI. Fowler herself Molly joined First Round Capital in 2019. Molly Fowler established the New York-based Dorm Room Fund. Before the venture, she worked for the Los Angeles government, and ran political campaigns. She also worked for former Alphabet subsidiary Sidewalk Labs' Intersection. Fowler said the idea is especially powerful when technology is changing quickly. "When there are big tech shifts, it advantages first-time builders," she said. "It's those moments that level the playing field." That thesis has been reinforced by some of the program's most prominent alumni. Former student investors have gone on to help build companies such as Cursor, the AI coding startup, and Shield AI, the defense technology company. Others now work at firms including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners, creating a dense network that shares deals, advice and career opportunities. According to the company, the portfolio includes eight unicorns and 30 companies valued above $300 million. Among the biggest names are Shield AI, valued at $13 billion, and Vulcan Technologies, an AI company serving government agencies that is valued at $2.5 billion. The alumni network has also become a source of repeat capital. Claire Smilow, now an investor at BoxGroup, participated in Dorm Room Fund while at Harvard Business School and overlapped with Michael Truell, who was involved while studying at MIT. BoxGroup later backed Truell's company in 2022, before it became Cursor. Smilow said the program's community has had a bigger influence on her career than business school. The cycle runs both ways. Aryan Shah joined Dorm Room Fund while at Emory University and later dropped out to co-found Metis, a software company focused on AI agents. Fowler backed the startup, and Dorm Room Fund alumni were among his first hires. DoorDash bought Metis in March for more than $100 million, and Shah later chose to invest in Dorm Room Fund's new vehicle. That kind of back-and-forth has become central to the firm's pitch. Thirty percent of the new fund's investors are alumni or firms that employ them. For many participants, the value goes beyond access to capital. As Shah put it, it can be "the biggest cheat code" a college student can have when trying to break into startups or venture capital. [Noah Wire Services helped in the writing of this article.]

The Defense Post
Oct 29th, 2026
Qatar eyes ai-controlled naval drones with Shield AI deal.

Qatar eyes ai-controlled naval drones with Shield AI deal. Qatar is exploring AI-powered autonomy for its unmanned naval vessels under a new agreement between defense technology firms Shield AI and Rheinmetall Barzan Advanced Technologies (RBAT). The companies signed a memorandum of understanding to explore integrating Shield AI's Hivemind software into Qatari-designed unmanned surface vessels (USVs) used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. The proposed integration could allow multiple vessels to coordinate their operations autonomously, supporting coastal security and the protection of critical infrastructure. RBAT, a joint venture between Qatar's Barzan Holdings and Germany's Rheinmetall, will contribute local engineering and systems-integration expertise. Shield AI will provide its Hivemind autonomy software, which the company says has been tested across more than 40 types of platforms, including aircraft, ground vehicles, and unmanned surface vessels. "The integration of Hivemind with Barzan Holdings autonomous solutions will expand advanced capabilities and enable coordinated autonomous operations across multiple vessels while optimizing operational efficiency and effectiveness," Shield AI Hivemind senior director Mimi Shalash said. Hivemind expands. Shield AI has integrated its Hivemind autonomy software with a growing range of military platforms, from unmanned aircraft to surface vessels. In September, the company and UK-based Kraken Technology Group demonstrated two K3 SCOUT uncrewed surface vessels working together on an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance mission. Hivemind coordinated their search, directed them to track and escort a vessel of interest, and then replanned the mission. The software has also been tested on aircraft for the US military. In February, Shield AI and US Navy program offices demonstrated Hivemind autonomously controlling two BQM-177A aerial target aircraft in a simulated combat environment, coordinating their movements to defend designated air patrol areas. Earlier, in May, the US Department of Defense selected Shield AI to integrate the software into the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System, a program for low-cost one-way attack drones designed to operate in groups.

PR Newswire
Oct 28th, 2026
Barzan Holdings Joint Venture with Rheinmetall AG, rheinmetal Barzan Advanced Technologies (RBAT), and Shield AI to advance autonomy on Qatari unmanned surface vessels (USV).

Barzan Holdings Joint Venture with Rheinmetall AG, rheinmetal Barzan Advanced Technologies (RBAT), and Shield AI to advance autonomy on Qatari unmanned surface vessels (USV). 28 Oct, 2026, 05:03 GMT DOHA, Qatar, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Shield AI, a leader in AI-powered mission autonomy, and Barzan Holdings Joint Venture RBAT signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Milipol Qatar 2026 to explore the integration of Shield AI's Hivemind autonomy software into Qatari-designed maritime autonomous defense and security solutions. This strategic partnership will build on established local capabilities in advanced maritime technologies, combining RBAT's indigenous engineering expertise with Shield AI's autonomy solutions into Barzan Holdings solutions. Shield AI and RBAT will work closely to explore integration of Hivemind autonomy software, leveraging the combined expertise of both companies and building upon Qatar's established engineering capabilities and technological strengths. Mimi Shalash, senior director for Hivemind at Shield AI, welcomed the MoU: "Qatar continues to demonstrate its leadership in maritime defense, leveraging its advanced capabilities to safeguard critical infrastructure while driving innovation in coastal security and defense operations. The integration of Hivemind with Barzan Holdings autonomous solutions will expand advanced capabilities and enable coordinated autonomous operations across multiple vessels while optimizing operational efficiency and effectiveness. We are proud to collaborate with RBAT's highly skilled engineers, combining our respective technological strengths to advance next-generation maritime autonomy." Dr. Sinan Al-Obaidi, Chief Executive Officer of Rheinmetall Barzan Advanced Technologies (RBAT) said: "Autonomy delivers its full value only when it is part of a wider operational picture. Shield AI brings proven, battle-tested autonomy through integrating Hivemind onto Barzan Holdings autonomous solutions. This elevates Qatar from individual unmanned platforms, to coordinated teams of vessels that protect our coastal waters and critical infrastructure." The MoU was signed on Day 2 of Milipol Qatar 2026 by Mimi Shalash, senior director for Hivemind at Shield AI, and Dr. Sinan Al-Obaidi, Chief Executive Officer of Rheinmetall Barzan Advanced Technologies (RBAT). Notes to Editors: About Shield AI and Hivemind Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI's technology actively supports operations worldwide. Hivemind has piloted more than 40 platforms, including F-16s, jet-powered uncrewed aircraft, helicopters, uncrewed surface vessels, ground vehicles, and a satellite in low Earth orbit. This collaboration follows similar partnerships and successful demos with Taiwan's Thunder Tiger Corp. and with Kraken Technology Group Ltd in the UK for autonomy on maritime platforms. About Barzan Holdings Barzan Holdings is a leading defense and security company that aims to strengthen Qatar's sovereignty and strategic position by investing in the long-term development of its human capital and armed forces capabilities. As the commercial gateway for the country's military industry, Barzan Holdings prioritizes impactful collaborations and global partnerships that foster knowledge exchange and investments into innovative defense technologies to keep Qatar at the forefront of present and future market opportunities. Through its global portfolio of investments and joint ventures, Barzan Holdings serves as a knowledge and technology hub that drives efficiencies in delivery and execution to meet the various needs of Qatar's defense and security sector. About RBAT Founded in 2017, Rheinmetall Barzan Advanced Technologies is a joint venture company between Barzan Holdings and Rheinmetall AG, with the mission of designing, developing and integrating advanced defense and security technologies, leveraging sovereign engineering and software expertise to deliver scalable, AI-enabled, mission-ready systems. RBAT product portfolio includes advanced Command and Control (C2) software, a comprehensive family of unmanned systems (UXV) and field-proven Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) solutions.

Shield AI
Oct 28th, 2026
Leonardo selects Shield to further its rotary-wing autonomy development.

Leonardo selects Shield to further its rotary-wing autonomy development. LONDON (October 29, 2026) - Shield today announced an agreement with Leonardo under which Leonardo will use Shield's Hivemind software to further develop autonomy capabilities for integration onto Proteus, Leonardo's autonomous uncrewed rotorcraft. The agreement expands Leonardo's tools to build its own mission autonomy software for new and existing systems. Using the Hivemind Software Development Kit (SDK), the two companies will work together to integrate the software so Leonardo engineers can develop new autonomy capabilities for rotary-wing operations, including anti-submarine warfare (ASW), intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and contested logistics helicopter operations. "Leonardo builds some of the most widely flown rotorcraft in the world, and Hivemind gives its engineers new tools to add autonomy to them," said Tom Schaefer, vice president of Hivemind engineering at Shield. "Autonomy software is never finished. It changes with the mission, the threat, and the sensors on the aircraft. Leonardo's engineers can therefore tailor Hivemind software to their mission sets, and the work stays with them." "As we look to the demands of our customers and the reality of military and security operations in both wartime and in peacetime, there is a need for autonomy powered by AI. The ability to develop and integrate mission autonomy using Hivemind onto Proteus will support the implementation of autonomous capabilities," said Adam Wardrope, Vice President Market Development Helicopters UK, Leonardo. "When combined with our long-standing design, development, and manufacturing expertise in crewed and uncrewed rotorcraft, we believe we will be able to benefit from Shield's software to support the development and delivery of autonomous solutions, potentially also extending it through other programmes within our rotary-wing portfolio." Using Hivemind, partners can develop, integrate, test, deploy, and continuously update their own autonomous pilots. They build mission autonomy tailored to their platforms and missions, then refine it as operations, environments, and threats evolve. Partners own what they build and can sustain and adapt those capabilities independently, lowering lifecycle cost through reuse and rapid iteration. Proteus is an advanced uncrewed vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) Technology Demonstrator developed by Leonardo in conjunction with the Royal Navy and UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) under the Rotary Wing Uncrewed Air System (RWUAS) CCD Phase 3B Technology Demonstrator Programme. Proteus informs the Royal Navy's Maritime Aviation Transformation (MATx) strategy, which outlines the evolution of maritime aviation until 2040. Proteus is designed with a large modular payload bay to accommodate a circa one-tonne payload or two standard NATO pallets (463L). This flexibility allows the operator to integrate customer and mission-specific payloads for various operations, such as anti-submarine warfare, airborne early warning or intra-theatre lift. Following demonstrations in all-synthetic operational scenarios, a real aircraft successfully carried out its maiden flight in early 2026, with Leonardo-designed autonomy capability embedded. Shield's Hivemind will sustain a further development of those capabilities. This agreement provides a pathway for greater future collaboration, drawing on Shield's significant expertise in autonomy powered by Hivemind software and the large product and service portfolio of Leonardo. About Shield: Founded in 2015, Shield is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield's technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube. About Leonardo: Leonardo is an international industrial group that develops multi-domain technological capabilities for global security. A key player in the major strategic programmes in Aerospace, Defence and Security, it employs over 62,000 people worldwide and operates in the Electronics, Helicopters, Aircraft, Cyber & Security and Space sectors. The company has a significant industrial presence in Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland and the United States, and is active in 150 countries also through subsidiaries, joint ventures and investees. Leonardo is a technological and industrial partner to Governments, Defence Administrations, Institutions and businesses. Listed on the Milan Stock Exchange (LDO), in 2025 Leonardo recorded new orders of €23.8 billion, an order backlog of €46.6 billion and consolidated revenues of €19.5 billion. Included in the MIB ESG Index, the company has also been part of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) since 2010.