Talent Acquisition Leader, Engineering APJ (R5758)

Shield; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equal opportunity employer

Accommodation options

Job summary

Shield AI, a defense-tech innovator, seeks a strategic Talent Acquisition leader for APJ to attract top engineering talent. You will translate business priorities into hiring strategy, partner with engineering leaders, and drive critical hires through senior searches from market mapping to offer and close.

You will build an inhouse TA capability, manage RPOs, and align with global priorities while navigating a complex talent landscape in a high-growth environment.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience building and leading technical recruiting teams at scale in aerospace/defence/robotics/autonomous systems.
• Ability to operate independently as the regional face of Talent Acquisition and align with global priorities.
• Technical fluency to partner credibly with senior engineering leaders on autonomy stacks, robotics systems, embedded software, distributed systems, simulations and ML.
• Experience managing RPO providers and holding partners accountable for delivery and candidate quality.
• Experience leading change management, process redesign, stakeholder adoption and operational enablement in Talent Acquisition transformation.
• Proven ability to navigate complex engineering talent landscapes and competitive compensation structures.
• Experience using ATS, sourcing platforms and recruiting analytics tools for pipeline visibility.
• Experience in high growth, transformation and ambiguous environments.
• Exceptional communication, data storytelling and negotiations skills.

Responsibilities

• Translate evolving business priorities into a focused hiring strategy with engineering leaders and partners.
• Own a portfolio of senior engineering searches from mapping to offer and close.
• Define partner model for vendors and RPOs, manage capacity and value.
• Build a scalable inhouse TA capability with coaching and leadership of the team.
• Drive hiring momentum with data-driven recommendations to executives.
• Build strong technical talent pipelines in Autonomy, Robotics, Vision, Perception, Simulation, ML and Infrastructure.
• Improve assessment and candidate experience; align interview processes with speed.
• Track pipeline health, outcomes, capacity and spend to inform decisions.
• Navigate confidentiality, security and role-specific eligibility in hiring plans.

Skills

Experience leading technicalRecruiting

Independent regional TA leader

Technical fluency with autonomy stacks

RPO management

Change management

Market mapping

Recruiting analytics

Adaptability in high growth

Negotiation and data storytelling

Stakeholder management

Sourcing and ATS knowledge

Tools

ATS systems

Sourcing platforms

Recruiting analytics tools

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.

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.

Build the engineering teams behind the mission

Our hiring needs evolve quickly, and the answers will not always be in a finished workforce plan or a neatly defined job description! We are looking for a strategic, hands-on Talent Acquisition leader to set and deliver the end-to-end approach to attracting and hiring exceptional engineering talent across APJ.

What you'll do:

• Translate evolving business priorities into a focused hiring strategy. Partner with the engineering leaders and PX Partners to understand our growing hiring needs, challenging assumptions, and setting priorities ensuring that Shield AI attracts, engages and hires top engineering talent.
• Deliver critical hires yourself. Own a portfolio of complex senior engineering searches from market mapping and outreach through assessment, offer and close.
• Make internal and external partnerships count. Work in a close partnership with PX/TA CoEs and other internal stakeholders to align on priorities and solve for challenges. Define the strategic partner model for our vendors and RPO providers, manage their capacity and accountability to business priorities, and determine where external expertise creates the greatest value versus direct internal ownership.
• Build a scalable inhouse TA capability. Hire, coach and lead an in-house TA team, fostering a high performance, data-driven collaborative team culture.
• Drive hiring momentum and alignment. Anticipate obstacles, resolve competing priorities and equip leaders with clear recommendations so hiring decisions keep pace with the business.
• Create strong technical talent pipelines. Build relationships in specialist engineering communities in Autonomy, Robotics, Vision, Perception, Simulation, Machine Learning and Infrastructure. Help candidates understand the mission and the technical challenges they will solve for at Shield AI.
• Raise the bar on assessment and experience. Help hiring managers define what good looks like, run well defined focused interview processes and drive best in class candidate experience, even when moving at speed.
• Turn insights into powerful hiring decisions. Track pipeline health, hiring outcomes, capacity and spend; make practical changes based on what the data and candidate market are telling you.
• Navigate a sensitive environment. Work closely with the internal teams to incorporate confidentiality, security and role-specific eligibility requirements into hiring plans and candidate processes.

Required qualifications:

• Proven ability to operate independently as the regional face of Talent Acquisition, building trusted relationships with local leaders and adapting global recruiting processes and approaches to regional needs whilst maintaining alignment with global priorities.
• 15+ years of experience building and leading technical recruiting teams at scale in a high-growth aerospace, defence, robotics or autonomous systems organisations.
• Appropriate technical fluency to partner credibly with senior engineering leaders on areas such as autonomy stacks, robotics systems, embedded software development, distributed systems, simulation environments and machine learning.
• Experience managing RPO providers and holding partners accountable for delivery and candidate quality and experience.
• Experience leading change management, process redesign, stakeholder adoption, and operational enablement in support of Talent Acquisition transformation
• Proven ability to navigate complex engineering talent landscapes and competitive compensation structures whilst delivering on ambitious HC targets
• Experience using ATS systems, sourcing platforms and recruiting analytics tools to drive hiring decisions and pipeline visibility
• Experience with high growth, transformation and ambiguous environments
• Exceptional communication, data storytelling and negotiations skills

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.

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, colour, 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.