Senior Lead Operational Analyst - Autonomous Defense

F7d8749a; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Benefits

Equity

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Senior Lead Operational Analyst to contribute to the modeling, simulation, and analysis of aircraft systems. You will perform analyses at multiple levels to evaluate effectiveness, survivability, and operational impact across domains.

Collaboration with engineering, product, and defense stakeholders will translate findings into actionable system insights for informed design trade-offs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in science, technology, engineering or math domain.
• Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience in operational analysis, modeling & simulation, operations research, or related defense or aerospace roles.
• Active Secret clearance at a minimum.
• Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired.

Responsibilities

• Plan, own and execute operational analyses to assess the effectiveness of autonomous systems in representative military scenarios.
• Develop and run modeling, simulation, and wargaming analyses to evaluate system performance, mission impact, and survivability in contested environments.
• Collaborate with engineering teams and product managers to translate operational findings into actionable system insights.
• Perform trade studies and sensitivity analyses to assess system performance across varying operational conditions, assumptions, and threat environments.
• Build, modify, and analyze mission-level models using tools such as AFSIM, STK, MATLAB, Python, or similar M&S frameworks.
• Analyze force-on-force engagements, sensor performance, and autonomy-enabled behaviors to support mission effectiveness assessments.
• Engage with DoD stakeholders, operators, and analysts to understand mission needs and operational constraints.
• Contribute to the development and refinement of concepts of operations (CONOPS) for AI-enabled aircraft capabilities.
• Monitor emerging threats and operational challenges relevant to autonomous and air combat systems.
• Prepare technical documentation, analysis reports, and briefings for internal teams, customers, and government stakeholders.
• Apply modern compute and development best practices (e.g., version control, scripting, scalable compute workflows, and reproducible analysis) to build and maintain reliable analysis pipelines.
• Be a force multiplier by coaching and developing incoming talent.

Skills

Operational analysis

Modeling & simulation

DoD knowledge

Security clearance

Education

B.S. in STEM

Tools

AFSIM

STK

MATLAB

Python

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Senior Lead Operational Analyst to contribute to the modeling, simulation, and analysis of aircraft systems. You will perform analyses at multiple levels to evaluate effectiveness, survivability, and operational impact across domains.

Collaboration with engineering, product, and defense stakeholders will translate findings into actionable system insights for informed design trade-offs.