Senior Staff Engineer, Shield AI

• 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 at a minimum. Preferred Top-Secret clearance (or ability to obtain one)
• Ability to obtain a S//SAR level security clearance desired

Desirable

• 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
• 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