---
title: 'Manager, Visual Design - Synthetic Reality Development at Shield AI'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/manager-visual-design-synthetic-reality-development-shield-ai-madrid-stm57166hzcr'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-07'
---

# Manager, Visual Design - Synthetic Reality Development at Shield AI

- **Company:** Shield AI
- **Location:** Madrid, Spain
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-16
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-07
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/ac75662f-e937-4870-8040-6dbe733d0a47

## Job description

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 www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

We are looking for a hands on team leader / manager who will lead a team of four Synthetic Reality Developers. This role will join our visual database production team for professional simulation. The successful candidate will be responsible for accurately recreating real-world infrastructure, airports, and environments, as well as ground, maritime, and airborne vehicles, through 3D modeling and the creation of realistic textures. This work contributes to the development of high- fidelity scenarios for professional training simulators. In addition to standard production tools, you will work with proprietary company software, processes, and workflows. The role therefore requires strong learning ability, attention to detail, commitment to quality, and adherence to established technical and visual standards. We are looking for professionals with strong spatial awareness, a technical mindset, and the ability to accurately reproduce real-world environments and assets while meeting project requirements and delivery deadlines.

Required Qualifications

- Minimum of 4 years of professional experience in 3D modeling and texturing.
- Minimum of 2 years of experience as a team leader or manager in similar environment.
- Demonstrated proficiency in Autodesk Maya for 3D modeling, geometry creation, and optimization, including Features and Moving Models.
- Strong proficiency in developing and optimizing UV coordinates, ensuring efficient use of texture space and appropriate pixel density.
- Demonstrated proficiency in Adobe Photoshop for creating and editing high-quality, realistic textures.
- Excellent spatial awareness and ability to interpret complex proportions, scales, and geometric relationships.
- Ability to accurately reproduce real-world assets and environments using photographic references and technical documentation.
- Ability to work within established technical standards and production requirements, ensuring consistency across deliverables.
- Strong commitment to quality, continuous improvement, and on-time project delivery.

## Preferred Qualifications

- Airport infrastructure, including lighting systems, signage, and pavement markings.
- Aviation.
- Cartography.
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
- Computer-Aided Design (CAD).
- Visual database development for simulation.
- Orthophotography, satellite imagery, and technical documentation.
- Simulation, synthetic environments, and digital twins.

Our international teammates receive a comprehensive total rewards package aligned to your country office location. For full details on compensation and benefits, please consult your talent acquisition partner.

## About Shield AI

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Shield AI builds AI pilots and autonomous systems for military aircraft to protect service members and civilians.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series G, venture-backed)
- **Headquarters**: San Diego, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2015
- **Founders**: Brandon Tseng, Ryan Tseng, Andrew Reiter

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Defense technology, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, aerospace
- Target customers: U.S. Department of Defense, allied nations’ military forces (B2G / Government)
- Mission or purpose statement: “Protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems.”

## Products & Services
- **Hivemind**: A combat‑tested, modular autonomy stack for aircraft – self‑driving technology for drones, jets, and helicopters. Includes path‑planning, mapping, state‑estimation, computer vision, and reinforcement learning. Type: Software (AI/autonomy).
- **V‑BAT**: A vertical take‑off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial system (UAS) designed for persistent ISR and strike missions. Type: Hardware (drone).
- **X‑BAT**: An advanced unmanned aircraft system with extended endurance and payload capacity, built for multi‑domain operations. Type: Hardware (drone).
- **Hivemind Vision Systems**: Computer‑vision and sensor‑fusion capabilities integrated into Hivemind for GPS‑denied environments. Type: Software + sensors.
- **Hivemind Enterprise**: A deployable version of Hivemind for third‑party platforms and commercial applications. Type: Software.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (private company). Total funding raised: $3.6B (as of Series G in March 2026).
- **Key Metric**: Annual Revenue ~$21.7M (estimated, private) | Total Funding $3.6B (including $2B Series G led by JP Morgan Chase and Advent International, March 2026).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: JP Morgan Chase, Advent International, Blackstone, Riot Ventures, SnowPoint Ventures, Disruptive (55+ investors total). Strategic partners include U.S. DoD and allied defense forces.
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew 68.3% YoY to 1,283 employees; 338 active job postings (+57.2% YoY); operates in 5 countries (U.S., Australia, UAE, Norway, Ukraine); recent acquisitions of Sentient Vision Systems (2024), Heron Systems, MARTIN UAV.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Combat‑proven autonomy**: Hivemind has been tested in live military operations, providing a first‑mover advantage in contested, GPS‑denied environments.
- **Full‑stack integration**: Combines software (AI pilot), hardware (V‑BAT, X‑BAT), and sensor systems, creating a tightly integrated product ecosystem.
- **Cross‑functional engineering culture**: Engineers work across AI, robotics, aerospace, and defense – not siloed – enabling rapid iteration and field deployment.
- **Top talent pipeline**: Employees drawn from Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Amazon, Anduril, and other leading defense/tech firms.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale AI pilots across all domains**: Extend Hivemind from aircraft to ships, satellites, and ground vehicles (“every military asset”).
- **International expansion**: Growing presence in Australia, Europe, and Middle East via mission autonomy centers and partnerships.
- **Deepen autonomy stack**: Continued investment in reinforcement learning, simulation, and computer vision to maintain leadership in contested‑environment autonomy.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission‑driven work**: Directly contribute to protecting service members and civilians with cutting‑edge AI and robotics.
- **Cross‑functional teams**: Engineers collaborate across disciplines (AI, hardware, software, systems) on real‑world defense challenges.
- **Benefits**: Excellent medical coverage, mental health EAP, paid parental leave, pet insurance, flexible work hours, gym discounts (SD) / on‑site gym (DC), free parking, competitive compensation, 401k with match, stock benefits.
- **Work policy**: Flexible work hours; some offices (e.g., San Diego HQ, Arlington, DC) have on‑site facilities. Remote/hybrid options available depending on role.
- **Growth trajectory**: Rapidly scaling (68% headcount growth) with hundreds of open roles across engineering, operations, and program management.

## Sources
1. [shield.ai/about](https://shield.ai/about/)
2. [shield.ai/careers](https://shield.ai/careers/)
3. [LinkedIn – Shield AI](https://www.linkedin.com/company/shield-ai)
4. [CBInsights – Shield AI](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/shield-ai)
5. [Lever – Shield AI Jobs](https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai)

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- [Autonomy Engineer, Technical Documentation](https://feeny.ai/job/autonomy-engineer-technical-documentation-shield-ai-san-diego-97g67v4ys3n9) — San Diego, CA
- [Director, Systems Engineering & Architecture - Hivemind Enterprise](https://feeny.ai/job/director-systems-engineering-architecture-hivemind-enterprise-shield-ai-san-z1zb7g7vsm3y) — San Diego, CA
- [Supplier Quality Specialist - PCBA Rework (R6420)](https://feeny.ai/job/supplier-quality-specialist-pcba-rework-r6420-shield-ai-dallas-dz062p41425m) — Dallas, TX
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- [Senior Executive Recruiter - G&A (R6520)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-executive-recruiter-g-a-r6520-shield-ai-remote-snsx3nvzjs9y)
- [Senior Executive Recruiter - Hivemind (R6523)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-executive-recruiter-hivemind-r6523-shield-ai-remote-mmd5bjrh5ehm)
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- [Sr. Director, Global People Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-director-global-people-operations-shield-ai-seattle-6xtw6kzm9trf) — Seattle, WA