Senior Director, Flight Operations; V-BAT); R5797

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. For more information, visit (Use the "Apply for this Job" box below). Follow Shield AI on Linked In, X, Instagram, and You Tube.

Shield AI is seeking an experienced and visionary Senior Director of Flight Operations to lead the execution and employment of V-BAT globally. This role provides leadership for Flight Test, Deployed Operations, Mission Control, and Training, ensuring aircraft, personnel, and operational resources are employed safely, efficiently, and in alignment with enterprise priorities.

As the senior operational leader for aircraft employment, you will oversee the planning, execution, and governance of all flight activities supporting product testing, customer operations, training, demonstrations, and operational growth. You will balance competing demands across developmental testing, deployed operations, customer commitments, and strategic initiatives while maintaining the highest standards of safety, readiness, and operational excellence.

The Senior Director will establish operational strategy, standardize execution across globally distributed teams, and develop scalable operational capabilities that support Shield AI's continued growth. This role partners closely with Engineering, Aviation Sustainment, Program Management, Business Development, and executive leadership to ensure operational execution aligns with technology development, customer success, and enterprise objectives.

• Lead and scale the Flight Operations organization consisting of Directors, Senior Managers, Managers, Supervisors, and technical professionals across Flight Test, Deployed Operations, Mission Control, and Training.

• Establish enterprise governance, decision frameworks, and operating standards for all V-BAT operations across the Aircraft Division.

• Develop organizational strategies that enable safe, scalable, and efficient V-BAT flight operations worldwide.

• Foster a culture of operational excellence, disciplined execution, accountability, and continuous improvement.

• Oversee the execution of developmental V-BAT flight testing, contractor-owned/contractor-operated missions, customer demonstrations, deployed operations, and internal and customer training events.

• Ensure operational activities are conducted safely, efficiently, and in accordance with regulatory, contractual, and company requirements.

• Establish operational readiness standards for aircraft, personnel, support equipment, and operational sites.

• Provide oversight of operational risk management, flight scheduling, and mission execution across all operational organizations.

• Provide executive oversight of Mission Control, ensuring enterprise aircraft allocation, configuration posture, and mission prioritization support strategic business objectives.

• Balance competing operational demands across flight test, customer operations, training, demonstrations, and internal flight operations activities.

• Ensure V-BAT employment decisions appropriately consider customer commitments, revenue recognition, technology roadmap priorities, operational readiness, and long‑term fleet health.

• Review and adjudicate high-impact operational conflicts requiring executive prioritization.

• Lead internal and customer training organizations responsible for developing qualified operators, maintainers, and instructors.

• Ensure training programs, curricula, simulators, and qualification standards evolve with product capabilities and operational requirements.

• Supervise operational qualification, currency, standardization, and evaluation programs across all Flight Operations personnel.

• Oversee Standardization & Evaluation leadership to ensure procedures, technical publications, and training…