FAA Program Coordinator (R6337)

The role

You will run the FAA regulatory operations process for Shield AI's drone programs. This covers FAA systems, aircraft registrations, waivers and airspace authorizations, and tracking of submissions and renewals across V-BAT, Hivemind and X-BAT.

What you will do

• Establish and manage an enterprise FAA regulatory operations process, including DroneZone, registrations, COA and airspace authorizations, and waivers.
• Maintain a single authoritative tracker for authorizations, applications, expirations, renewals and dependencies.
• Coordinate intake, scheduling, review and submission of FAA packages with subject matter experts and confirm approval status before submission.
• Manage correspondence and submission status with the FAA, UAS test sites and other stakeholders.
• Lead recurring cross-program regulatory status reviews and escalate schedule risks and approaching expirations.
• Support authorization pathways such as Section 927 waivers, experimental certification, BVLOS, higher-altitude and one-to-many operations.
• Develop standardized submission workflows, templates, checklists and records controls, and automate routine tracking and reporting.
• Build dashboards and concise status reports on application volume, cycle time, renewals and approval risks.
• Maintain a forward-looking FAA authorization roadmap and coordinate impact reviews of FAA process changes.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in aviation management, business, public administration, regulatory affairs, project or program management, engineering or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be
• 3-5+ years of experience in aviation regulatory operations, project or program coordination, flight operations administration, airworthiness or certification support, UAS operations, or a related regu
• Demonstrated experience coordinating regulatory applications, authorizations, certifications or comparable controlled-submission processes.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent workstreams using integrated schedules, action and decision logs, dependency tracking and controlled records.
• Working knowledge of FAA aviation or UAS authorization processes.
• Strong professional and technical writing skills.
• Strong cross-functional communication, organization, attention to detail and follow-through.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Teams, SharePoint and project-tracking or document-management tools.

Nice to have

• Direct experience with FAA DroneZone, aircraft registration, COAs or airspace authorizations, Part 107 waivers or experimental certification support.
• Experience supporting UAS, autonomous aircraft, defense aviation or developmental flight-test programs.
• Previous interaction with the FAA, UAS test sites, Department of Defense organizations or other aviation authorities.
• Familiarity with Section 927, 44807 and SAC-EC waivers, BVLOS, higher-altitude, one-to-many or large-UAS approval pathways.
• FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, CAPM or PMP certification, or comparable regulatory or project-management training.
• Experience building scalable workflows, dashboards and automated tracking in a regulated environment.

Benefits

• Bonus for full-time regular employees.
• Equity for full-time regular employees.
• Benefits package for full-time regular employees.
• Temporary benefits package for temporary employees, applicable after 60 days of employment.

Before you apply

• All offers are contingent on a cleared background check and possible reference check.
• Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits.

About the company

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company that builds intelligent systems to protect service members and civilians. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies.