Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent, autonomous systems. Its products include Hivemind Enterprise—EdgeOS, Pilot, Commander, and Forge—as well as V-BAT and Sentient Vision Systems (wide-area motion imaging software). With offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kyiv (Ukraine), and Melbourne (Australia), Shield AI’s technology actively supports U.S. and allied operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X and Instagram.
Shield AI is building the world’s best AI pilot. Our Hivemind technology enables autonomous operations for aircraft and unmanned systems in complex, contested environments. As we expand our market presence, we are seeking a Pre-Sales & Partnerships Program Manager to drive technical engagement with potential customers, support key partnerships, and ensure the success of Hivemind adoption.
As a Partnerships Program Manager, you will be responsible for building and managing Shield AI’s partner ecosystem to drive the successful adoption of Hivemind. You will oversee partner onboarding, engagement, and integration efforts, ensuring strategic alignment between Shield AI and its technology and deployment partners. Your role will be critical in fostering strong relationships, optimizing partnership processes, and ensuring seamless partner integrations that support mission success.
What you'll do:
- Lead Pre-Sales Partner Engagements: Serve as the technical program manager for pre-sales efforts, ensuring potential partners understand and can evaluate Hivemind’s capabilities effectively.
- Manage Key Partnerships: Oversee partner onboarding, engagement, and integration efforts, ensuring a streamlined collaboration between Shield AI and technology or deployment partners.
- Drive Customer Success with Partners: Support proof-of-concept (POC) demonstrations, technical deep-dives, and pilot programs to validate Hivemind in customer environments.
- Cross-Functional Coordination: Work closely with Engineering, Business Development, and Product teams to align partnerships strategy with technical capabilities and customer needs.
- Process & Documentation Optimization: Develop and refine playbooks, best practices, and repeatable processes for partnership management.
- Ensure Seamless Partner Integrations: Facilitate technical coordination for partners integrating Hivemind into their platforms, ensuring compatibility and mission success.
- Market & Competitive Analysis: Gather customer and partner feedback to inform Shield AI’s roadmap, enabling continuous improvements in Hivemind’s offerings.
Required Qualifications:
- 8+ years of experience in partner program management, strategic partnerships, or business development within AI, autonomy, defense technology, or software development.
- Proven track record in managing technology partnerships, integrations, and enablement programs.
- Familiarity with autonomous systems, AI-driven software, and SDK/API integrations in real-world applications.
- Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills, able to bridge technical and business discussions effectively.
- Proven ability to coordinate cross-functional teams in fast-paced environments, ensuring smooth execution of pre-sales and partnership initiatives.
- Experience in government, aerospace, or defense sectors is a strong plus.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with technical channel sales partnerships
- Engineering background in addition business (ie MBA) acumen
- Experience working in the defense or aerospace industry with knowledge of government customers and military use cases.
- Familiarity with autonomous vehicle software, UAV systems, or robotic applications.
- Certification in project management methodologies (e.g., PMP, Agile, or Scrum).
Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
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. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
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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, color, 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.
Top Skills
What We Do
Shield AI is building the world's best AI pilot. Our Hivemind autonomy stack is the first and only autonomous AI Pilot, deployed in combat since 2018. Hivemind enables intelligent teams of aircraft to perform missions ranging from room clearance, to penetrating air defense systems, and dogfighting F-16s.
Why Work With Us
What makes Shield AI special is our people. We unlock the power of autonomy, and in the face of overwhelming odds and challenges, we find ways to win and make a difference for our customers. We bring together software, AI, and aerospace engineering disciplines to deploy the most intelligent aviation capabilities in the world.
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