---
title: 'Senior Production Planner, Development Programs (R5277) at Shield AI'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-production-planner-development-programs-r5277-shield-ai-dallas-3xrpg6w9sc7f'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-07'
---

# Senior Production Planner, Development Programs (R5277) at Shield AI

- **Company:** Shield AI
- **Location:** Dallas, TX
- **Compensation:** $78k–$110k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-07-08
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/efa0146e-53d7-4a55-9ea1-35f01664fe9f

## 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.

About Shield AI: Shield AI is building the world’s best AI pilot. Our autonomous systems, including V-BAT and Hivemind Enterprise, operate in the most contested environments in the world. As next-generation aircraft programs transition from development into production, operational agility and production discipline are critical to delivering mission-ready systems while enabling rapid innovation. We are seeking a Senior Production Planner for Development Programs to drive production planning and execution for developmental and prototype aircraft builds. This role operates at the intersection of Manufacturing, Engineering, Supply Chain, and Program Management to ensure aircraft build schedules remain executable despite evolving designs, changing priorities, and material constraints.

Job Description: The Senior Production Planner – Development Programs is responsible for developing, maintaining, and executing production plans for prototype and developmental aircraft programs. Unlike traditional production environments, this role must navigate incomplete engineering definition, evolving bills of material, shifting program priorities, and dynamic supply chain conditions while maintaining progress toward key build and flight test milestones. You will serve as a critical coordination point between Manufacturing, Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, and Program Management to translate rapidly changing program requirements into actionable production plans.

What you'll do:

- Develop and maintain detailed production schedules for prototype aircraft builds, major assemblies, and integration activities
- Translate engineering release plans, build priorities, and program milestones into executable manufacturing schedules
- Release and manage work orders in support of aircraft builds, including builds with incomplete engineering definition or evolving configurations or bills of material
- Coordinate schedule adjustments resulting from engineering changes, design revisions, and shifting program priorities
- Monitor production progress and proactively identify risks to key build, integration, and flight test milestones
- Coordinate temporary planning structures and workarounds to enable manufacturing progress while maintaining configuration control
- Facilitate rapid schedule recovery plans when design, material, or technical issues affect build progress
- Partner closely with Supply Chain to align material availability with build requirements and timelines
- Support ERP/MRP system accuracy through effective planning and work order management

Required qualifications:

- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, Business, or related field
- 5+ years of experience in production planning, manufacturing planning, production control, or supply chain operations
- Experience supporting complex hardware, aerospace, defense, automotive, robotics, or other highly engineered products
- Experience working within ERP/MRP systems (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite, Costpoint, or similar)
- Strong understanding of manufacturing processes, work order management, bills of material, and production scheduling
- Demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced and highly dynamic environment
- U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain/maintain a security clearance

Preferred qualifications:

- Experience supporting prototype, NPI (New Product Introduction), or developmental manufacturing programs
- Experience in UAV, aerospace, defense, or aircraft production environments
- Familiarity with engineering change management and configuration control processes
- APICS CPIM certification

Why Shield AI:

At Shield AI, prototype aircraft builds are where innovation becomes reality. Every developmental aircraft completed advances the future of autonomous aviation and accelerates mission capability for our customers.

This role sits at the center of that effort, helping transform evolving designs into flight-ready aircraft while building the production foundation for future scale.

If you are excited about solving complex manufacturing challenges and enabling next-generation autonomous aircraft programs, we want to hear from you.

Join us in building the world's best AI pilot.

## #LI-JM1

#LC

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.

###

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.

## 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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