Senior TPM, Autonomous Aircraft & Flight Tests

Shieldai; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Benefits

Equity

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a Senior Technical Program Manager to lead execution within the XBAT organization. This role coordinates across flight sciences, vehicle integration, autonomy, and test teams to ensure demonstrations and milestones are achieved.

This position targets technically seasoned leaders who blend aerospace engineering depth with disciplined program execution, enabling rapid iteration and risk management in a fast-paced development environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of experience in aerospace, unmanned systems, autonomous systems, or advanced aircraft development programs.
• Strong technical background in flight controls, aerodynamics, vehicle integration, or systems engineering.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional technical teams and driving execution across subsystem boundaries.
• Familiarity with MBSE, requirements management, or configuration management processes.
• Ability to communicate with highly technical engineering teams and executive leadership.
• U.S. Person status due to export control regulations; ability to obtain security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day execution of the Hopper Demonstration Program across engineering, integration, flight test, and operations stakeholders.
• Drive integrated program planning, technical coordination, and execution tracking across multiple subsystem teams.
• Coordinate activities spanning flight controls, aero/performance, aerostructures, avionics, autonomy, software, and vehicle integration.
• Partner with engineering leads to identify technical risks, integration gaps, and critical path dependencies.
• Support development and execution of demonstration campaigns, flight readiness activities, and test event planning.
• Facilitate technical reviews, milestone assessments, configuration reviews, and executive program updates.
• Drive cross-functional alignment between design, manufacturing, integration, test, and operational teams.
• Mature systems integration processes, demonstration workflows, and execution rigor across the program.
• Track and communicate program status, technical risks, mitigation plans, and schedule impacts to leadership.
• Support rapid problem solving and decision-making in dynamic development and flight test environments.

Skills

Flight controls

Aerodynamics

Vehicle integration

Systems engineering

Aerostructures

Flight test

Leadership

Cross-functional coordination

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering

Tools

MBSE

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a Senior Technical Program Manager to lead execution within the XBAT organization. This role coordinates across flight sciences, vehicle integration, autonomy, and test teams to ensure demonstrations and milestones are achieved.

This position targets technically seasoned leaders who blend aerospace engineering depth with disciplined program execution, enabling rapid iteration and risk management in a fast-paced development environment.