--- title: 'Senior Technical Program Manager at Shield AI' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-program-manager-shield-ai-lviv-g89q0ew1q4eg' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-12' --- # Senior Technical Program Manager at Shield AI - **Company:** Shield AI - **Location:** Lviv, Ukraine - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-09-09 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/shieldai/6b500b70-dca1-41aa-a283-ce36d0b02a65 ## Job description Shield AI is seeking a Program Manager to support and help lead the development and delivery of transformative unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems. ## What You'll Do - Manage complex software development projects. Lead and be accountable for projects that span multiple functional teams and cross-functional initiatives. This includes hardware and software engineering, legal, safety and security, business and commercial development, finance, supply chain, and operations. - Create cohesive project plans. Develop detailed plans that track and drive product deliverables, both internal and external to Shield AI, across all phases of the program. Ensure timely completion, resolve dependencies, evaluate risks, and effectively communicate status to upper management and project stakeholders. - Solicit, aggregate, and track product and technical requirements. Gather requirements from stakeholders, both internal and external, and aggregate them into a single source of truth. Track the status of requirements throughout the development process to ensure that they are met. - Identify, catalog, and report on risks. Identify potential risks to programs across multiple teams. Catalog the risks and their potential impact. Report on the risks to stakeholders on a regular basis. Manage the burndown of risks through the program lifecycle. Required Qualifications - Project Management Experience: Experience managing complex software development projects from start to finish, including setting and managing budgets, schedules, and resources. Experience working with multidisciplinary teams, running multiple projects simultaneously. Ability to run advanced projects/programs consisting of multiple interrelated projects, in a manner that is largely self-directed. Competency in both waterfall and agile project processes. - Scheduling Tool Experience: Experience using scheduling tools such as Microsoft Project or Smartsheet. - Microsoft Office Suite Experience: Significant experience and excellent skills with Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. - Leadership, Time Management, Organization, and Team Management Skills: Excellent skills in leadership, time management, organization, and team management. The ability to motivate and inspire others, set clear expectations, and delegate tasks effectively is essential. - Project Management Knowledge: Theoretical and practical knowledge of project management principles and practices. The ability to identify and manage risks, communicate effectively with stakeholders, and make sound decisions under pressure is essential. ## 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) ## Other roles at Shield AI - [Senior V-BAT Air Vehicle Operator, Field Integration and Test (R5130)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-v-bat-air-vehicle-operator-field-integration-and-test-r5130-shield-ai-8ychv8kkv7qh) — Dallas, TX - [Staff Platform Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-platform-engineer-shield-ai-san-diego-t739q0cnehtg) — San Diego, CA - [Principal Engineer, Fluid & Thermal Systems (R5620)](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-engineer-fluid-thermal-systems-r5620-shield-ai-seattle-jzpbwfsaek36) — Seattle, WA - [Director, Mission Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/director-mission-systems-shield-ai-washington-96nmd081cj08) — Washington, DC - [Staff Engineer, Safety - X-BAT (R5844)](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-engineer-safety-x-bat-r5844-shield-ai-seattle-qmh74thwt7xs) — Seattle, WA - [Senior Production Planner, Development Programs (R5277)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-production-planner-development-programs-r5277-shield-ai-seattle-nj57x3fgq8b7) — Seattle, WA - [Mission Systems Software Engineer (R5888)](https://feeny.ai/job/mission-systems-software-engineer-r5888-shield-ai-seattle-yw43sjwwgsn0) — Seattle, WA - [Field Marketing Manager, India](https://feeny.ai/job/field-marketing-manager-india-shield-ai-delhi-4y6c5baq31qg) — Delhi, India - [Senior Staff Engineer, Mission Architect (R5876)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-staff-engineer-mission-architect-r5876-shield-ai-washington-5ftkg2h8j234) — Washington, DC - [Engineer II, Future Concepts (R5910)](https://feeny.ai/job/engineer-ii-future-concepts-r5910-shield-ai-washington-p66bm4ktv41m) — Washington, DC