Head of Aircraft 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 prototype and development aircraft builds, including assembly, integration, rework, and test support. You will establish the Seattle production operation, recruit and develop the production organization, plan staffing and capacity, and lead launch readiness. You will own production performance for safety, quality, delivery, and cost while improving throughput, quality, traceability, and scalability.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, manufacturing, or a related technical field.
- 10+ years of experience in aerospace or comparable advanced manufacturing.
- At least 5 years leading production teams.
- Experience leading prototype or new product introduction builds through sustained production.
- Ability to build and scale manufacturing operations.
- Experience leading complex assembly and integration operations.
- Understanding of manufacturing readiness, tooling validation, material coordination, and production launch.
- Experience improving safety, quality, delivery, and cost through Lean manufacturing and structured problem-solving.
- Ability to lead across Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Program Management.
Responsibilities
- Lead prototype builds and new product introduction.
- Own execution of prototype and development aircraft builds.
- Establish build schedules, resource plans, and milestones.
- Plan and execute pre-series builds.
- Maintain configuration discipline and aircraft traceability.
- Lead manufacturing setup and operational readiness for X-Forge 3.
- Recruit, develop, and lead the production organization.
- Own production staffing, training, and capacity plans.
- Lead the transition from prototype operations into Seattle production.
- Own production execution against safety, quality, delivery, and cost targets.
- Improve throughput, labor productivity, quality, and schedule adherence through Lean methods.
- Align material availability, supplier readiness, and outsourced manufacturing with the production plan.
- Deploy digital manufacturing tools and automation.
Benefits
- Bonus
- Equity