Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kyiv (Ukraine), and Melbourne (Australia), Shield AI’s technology actively supports U.S. and allied operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn,X, YouTubeand Instagram.

At Shield AI, we're solving some of the most complex and consequential challenges in defense and autonomy. As a key member of our Strategy team, you’ll work directly with our CEO and senior leadership to drive high-impact initiatives that shape the future of the company and our mission to protect the free world. This is a rare opportunity to influence the trajectory of a generational company—where your strategic thinking, analytical horsepower, and cross-functional leadership will help unlock billion-dollar opportunities and fuel global expansion.

What you'll do:

Drive mission-critical strategic initiatives across:

AI pilots and autonomous systems

Aerospace platform development

International expansion strategies

Mergers & acquisitions

Emerging markets and frontier technologies

Craft and deliver high-impact content, including:

Investor presentations and board updates

Government strategy briefs and competitive intelligence reports

Internal narratives to align leadership and execution

Build business cases for billion-dollar opportunities, applying deep analytical rigor and structured thinking to support executive decision-making

Partner directly with cross-functional leaders in engineering, product, business development, and operations to execute high-leverage, cross-company initiatives

Bring clarity to ambiguity by turning loosely scoped problems into actionable frameworks, strategic options, and go-forward plans

Required qualifications:

Min 3–6 years’ experience at a top-tier strategy firm (McKinsey, BCG, Bain) or investment bank (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, etc.), with a clear track record of top-decile performance (top 0.1% preferred).

Undergraduate degree from a top-tier institution (MBA a plus but not required).

Exceptional structured thinking, executive communication, and writing skills.

Proven ability to move fluidly between strategy and execution—equally comfortable modeling in Excel, writing narratives, and presenting to senior stakeholders.

Deep intellectual curiosity about national security, AI, autonomy, or aerospace.

A bias for action and an ownership mindset. You are driven by purpose, not prestige.

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.

Lead, Strategy & Operations

Job Description

What you'll do:

Required qualifications:

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