Director of Business Development, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (Northeast Asia) (R5041)

The role

Lead strategic sales, customer engagement and capture efforts for Shield AI's Collaborative Combat Aircraft initiatives in Northeast Asia. You will own the business development lifecycle from opportunity identification through contract award.

What you will do

• Identify, shape and capture high-value next-gen airpower opportunities in Northeast Asia relevant to CCAs and autonomy
• Lead the full business development lifecycle for CCA efforts, from customer engagement through proposal, negotiation and contract award
• Build and maintain relationships with Ministries of Defence, defense primes, integrators and NATO-related bodies
• Influence customer requirements and future CCA CONOPS to align with Shield AI's products
• Lead positioning and participation in regional flight demos, technical trials and program pilots
• Coordinate with engineering, product, legal and program teams to align technical solutions with customer needs
• Provide field intelligence to guide feature development, integration strategy and roadmap for Hivemind-enabled CCA solutions

Required qualifications

• 15+ years in a relevant air force occupation, with depth of understanding of CONOPS and platform applications
• Real-world operational experience flying tactical fighter aircraft with a strong technical background (stated as a preference)
• 3-5+ years of experience in defense acquisition, business development, sales or strategy, ideally on air platforms or autonomy
• 5+ years of experience in the region, operationally or from a defense business perspective
• Strong track record of capturing and closing defense programs or tech insertions with relevant Ministries of Defence or multinational frameworks
• Understanding of next-gen air combat trends, including CCAs, MUM-T and AI-enabled CONOPS
• Ability to credibly represent technically complex products to strategic and operational-level audiences
• Familiarity with key regional acquisition pathways
• Willingness to live in Northeast Asia and travel extensively across the region (30-50%)

Benefits

• Comprehensive total rewards package aligned to your country office location

Before you apply

• Willingness to live in Northeast Asia is required, exact country to be determined

About the company

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company that builds intelligent systems, including Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies. It has offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.