From Shield AI's posting. “We” and “our” refer to the employer.
Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai
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The Presales Solutions Engineer will provide technical expertise and support to customers in the Asia, Middle East, and Oceana regions prior to the sale of Shield AI Aircraft and other products. This role involves collaborating closely with customers to understand their requirements and demonstrating how our solutions can meet their needs. You will play a key role in ensuring successful product development throughout the presales process.
The Solutions Engineer serves as a technical force multiplier for the Go To Market (GTM) team, providing expertise on Shield AI’s products and services to drive customer engagement, solution alignment, and successful deal capture. This role bridges the gap between our technology roadmap and our customers' operational needs.
What you will do:: Lead technical capture efforts for Asia, Middle East, and Oceana opportunities, ensuring solutions are technically sound, feasible, and aligned with Shield AI’s product roadmap. Capture efforts will focus on V-BAT, but will require familiarity with the entire Shield AI Product suite.
Manage multiple priorities in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, including customer engagements, pre-sales technical support, proposal contributions, and solution development.
Develop and execute technical strategies that result in high-quality, compliant, and compelling proposals to maximize win probability.
Serve as the primary technical lead for GTM engagements in Asia, interfacing cross-functionally with BD, GTM Operations , Engineering, Operations, Program Management, and Product Management to ensure customer needs are met.
Manage technical content for proposals, requests for information (RFIs), white papers, and capability briefs, ensuring accuracy, clarity, and compliance.
Support GTM and Account Executives by becoming a Subject Matter Expert in Shield AI products, providing technical expertise in customer engagements, capability briefings, and solution discussions to drive successful sales outcomes.
Act as a liaison between GTMand Engineering, ensuring that new customer requests are technically feasible and align with product capabilities, timelines, and roadmaps.
Contribute to the technical documentation repository, maintaining capability briefs, specifications, FAQs, and other sales collateral for internal and external use.
Provide training and mentorship to GTMteams on technical aspects of Shield AI’s solutions, enabling them to articulate our value proposition confidently.
Support competitive analysis and market intelligence, ensuring the GTMteam remains informed on industry trends and competitor capabilities.
Contribute to process improvement efforts, leveraging lessons learned from customer engagements to refine GTMworkflows and technical capture strategies.
Analyze the unique operational and environmental factors of the assigned region, producing high-impact white papers and briefs that inform the product roadmap and drive solutions aligned to customer mission needs.
Required Qualifications:: 5+ years of experience in technical presales, business development, or solutions engineering, preferably in defense, aerospace, AI-driven technology, or U.S. Federal/International government environments.
Bachelor's degree in engineering, applied science, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
Strong technical acumen in uncrewed aircraft systems mission payloads, and autonomy enabled concepts of operation, with the ability to reason across air vehicle, sensor, datalink, and ground system elements (experience with V-BAT, Hivemind, and Vision Systems preferred).
Outstanding analytical and quantitative problem-solving skills, with a demonstrated aptitude for technical assessments and solution development.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear, compelling messaging for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
Ability to work collaboratively in a cross-functional team environment and effectively engage with stakeholders at all levels of an organization. ▪ Demonstrated success interfacing between technical program teams and customer facing business development organizations.
Track record of high performance, including a demonstrated work ethic, reliability as a teammate, kindness, and commitment to high standards.
Demonstrated ability to lead in fast paced, ambiguous environments requiring cross functional coordination and executive judgment.
Proven ability to shape early capture pursuits, including RFIs, AOAs, draft RFPs, and white papers, and the ability to align solution concepts with long term program strategy.
Experience working with international defense customers, including exposure to procurement processes, operational evaluations, and information security or export considerations.
Demonstrated ability to lead complex customer engagements end to end, including requirements discovery, solution shaping, and technical proposal ownership.
Willingness and ability to travel up to 25%, domestically and internationally to support customers, partners, tests, and demonstrations.
Preferred Qualifications:: Graduate degree in engineering, applied science, systems management, business, or equivalent practical experience.
Prior hands on experience with V-BAT operations, employment, testing, or integration, or direct experience with comparable vertical takeoff tactical UAS platforms.
Familiarity with Shield AI's autonomy stack, mission software, and payload ecosystem, including Hivemind, AI Pilot, ISR payloads, and associated ground systems, or similar autonomy enabled mission systems.
Deep familiarity with international defense market dynamics, including key ministries, acquisition paths such as FMS and DCS, and Asia nation processes, and regional operational trends relevant to V-BAT missions.
Experience owning recurring product line or program governance forums such as forecast reviews, readiness reviews, export reviews, or configuration and obsolescence boards.
Experience managing or contributing to complex multinational capture efforts, including coalition or partnered operations, offset requirements, and industrial participation structures.
Background spanning both systems engineering and customer facing work, with demonstrated ability to translate operational problems into implementable technical architectures and configurations.
Experience influencing pricing, product offering definition, or production planning based on field and customer input.
Three or more years of experience in a startup or high growth environment where processes, products, and markets evolve quickly.
Prior military aviation, operational UAS, or defense acquisition experience.
Fluency or strong proficiency in one or more additional languages relevant to key V-BAT markets.
Familiarity with the military objectives, limitations, procurement processes, military structures and technology of US Allies and Partners in Asia.
Active DoD security clearance.
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.
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