Senior Staff Engineer, Operations Analysis (R4759)

AI Chopping Block; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

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

You will collaborate with engineering, product, and defense stakeholders to assess performance, inform design trade‑offs, and improve mission outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in science, technology, engineering, or math domain.
• 9+ years of experience in operational analysis or related defense/aerospace roles.
• Active Secret at a minimum; Top-Secret clearance preferred.

Responsibilities

• Plan, own and execute operational analyses of autonomous systems.
• Develop modeling, simulation, and wargaming analyses to evaluate performance impacts.
• Collaborate with engineering, product, and defense stakeholders to translate findings into actionable insights.
• Perform trade studies and sensitivity analyses across varying conditions and threats.
• Build and analyze mission-level models using AFSIM, STK, MATLAB, Python, or similar M&S frameworks.
• Analyze sensor performance and autonomy-enabled behaviors to support effectiveness assessments.
• Engage with DoD stakeholders to understand mission needs and constraints.
• Contribute to CONOPS for AI-enabled aircraft capabilities.
• Monitor emerging threats relevant to autonomous air combat systems.
• Prepare technical documentation, analyses, and briefings for internal and government stakeholders.
• Apply modern compute and development best practices to build reliable analysis pipelines.
• Mentor and develop incoming talent.

Skills

Operational analysis

Modeling & simulation

Data analysis

DoD liaison

Education

Bachelor's in STEM

Tools

AFSIM

STK

MATLAB

Python

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-BATaircraft, 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:

We are seeking a Senior Lead Operational Analyst to contribute to the modeling, simulation, and analysis of Shield AI’s aircraft systems. In this role, you will perform analysis at the component, system, mission and campaign levels to evaluate the effectiveness, survivability, and operational impact of our aircraft across multiple domains, missions and applications. You will collaborate closely with engineering, product, and defense stakeholders to assess system performance, inform design trade-offs, and improve mission outcomes.

This position requires a strong working knowledge of military operations, modeling & simulation (M&S), data science, and operational analysis techniques. Your analyses will directly support product decisions and customer engagements by helping demonstrate how Shield AI’s AI-powered platforms perform in realistic and contested operational environments.

What you'll do:

• 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.

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in science, technology, engineering or math domain.
• 9+ years of experience in operational analysis, modeling & simulation, operations research, or related defense or aerospace roles.
• Active Secret at a minimum. Preferred Top-Secret clearance (or ability to obtain one).
• Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired.

Preferred qualifications:

• Prior experience in force-on-force analysis, CONOPS development, or military campaign modeling.
• Experience with evaluating strategic development and analysis goals for multi-mission/multi-domain applicability.
• Familiarity with DoD acquisition processes, tools (Brawler, ESAMS, etc.), Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS), and military operational testing.
• Experience leading a product effort from pre-shaping to tactical deployment
• Prior experience in systems engineering product development lifecycle (SysML or MBSE preferred)
• Experience developing technical expertise in a team to execute analyses for system design and analysis.