Director of Production
Shield AI is a U.S. defense-technology company developing mission-autonomy software and autonomous aircraft for military and allied operations.
Funding history
Investors
About Shield AI
Founded in 2015, Shield AI builds Hivemind autonomy software and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft for operations in contested, GPS- and communications-denied environments. Its current site also presents Aechelon synthetic-reality simulation and Vision Systems detection and tracking products.
Skills
Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
You will lead U.S.-based manufacturing operations and build scalable production systems. You will direct aircraft production capabilities, lead production teams, coordinate with quality, engineering, supply chain, and customer operations, and use data, automation, and continuous improvement to improve execution.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, or a related field
- 10+ years of production leadership in advanced manufacturing environments
- Experience building and scaling a manufacturing operation
- 5+ years leading large teams in high-precision, high-throughput settings
- Experience managing outsourced manufacturing or tiered vendor ecosystems
- Knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies
- Executive-level communication and cross-functional alignment skills
Responsibilities
- Architect and execute production plans that balance scale, agility, quality, cost, and delivery goals
- Drive aircraft production capabilities, systems, processes, and staffing
- Lead production operations teams through coaching, accountability, and clear expectations
- Collaborate with quality, engineering, supply chain, and customer operations
- Champion improvements to throughput, takt, quality, and cost
- Use KPI dashboards, metrics reviews, and operational cadences to guide decisions
- Drive adoption of automation, digitization, and advanced manufacturing methods
- Report insights and risks to executive leadership
Benefits
- Bonus
- Benefits
- Equity
- Temporary benefits package after 60 days of employment for temporary employees