Product Strategy & Operations Sr. Lead, X-BAT Family of Systems (FoS)
Shield AI· Defense tech· Sep 24, 2026 · 1mo ago
San Diego, California
In office
Full-time
Lead/Staff
$160K–$300K
8+ years exp
Job description
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 . Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn , X , Instagram , and YouTube .
Job Description:
Shield AI is seeking a Product Strategy & Operations Sr. Lead, X-BAT Family of Systems (FoS) to strengthen the strategy, proposal development, and operating rigor of the X-BAT FoS Product organization.
As a core member of the X-BAT FoS Product team, you will support priority U.S. and international pursuits by translating leadership direction, customer requirements, and program priorities into compelling capture materials, proposal storylines, and coordinated execution plans. This is primarily an internal-facing role requiring consulting-grade analytical rigor, exceptional written communication, strong PowerPoint skills, and the ability to manage complex, cross-functional proposal efforts.
What you'll do:
Product Strategy and Proposal Development
Partner with X-BAT FoS Product leadership to develop and refine capture strategies for priority domestic and international pursuits.
Translate customer priorities, mission needs, and program objectives into differentiated capture approaches, win themes, proposal storylines, and messaging frameworks.
Develop leadership-ready strategy presentations, pursuit-planning materials, internal decision-support products, and capture artifacts.
Lead development of analytically rigorous responses to RFIs, RFPs, RFQs, white papers, capability statements, and other customer-facing materials.
Work across technical, program, business development, finance, legal, international, and product teams to turn complex inputs into clear, persuasive customer narratives.
Ensure proposal materials align with customer requirements, Shield AI’s differentiated capabilities, approved messaging, and X-BAT FoS Capture direction.
Provide editorial, analytical, and strategic quality control for proposals, written products, briefings, and related customer materials.
Support proposal kickoffs, content-development planning, reviews, and color-team activities.
Capture Operations
Track proposal and solicitation-response activity across the X-BAT FoS Product portfolio, including milestones, owners, dependencies, reviews, risks, and key decision points.
Develop and maintain capture trackers, reporting mechanisms, operating cadences, and dashboards that provide clear visibility into active pursuits and proposal progress.
Monitor consistency and quality across capture and proposal products to ensure alignment with X-BAT FoS strategy, approved messaging, and organizational priorities.
Identify process gaps and bottlenecks across the capture lifecycle and implement practical improvements.
Support knowledge management and development of reusable capture tools, templates, content, and best practices.
Coordinate cross-functional contributors to enable timely, aligned, and high-quality proposal execution.
Required qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree with 8+ years of relevant experience, Master’s degree with 4+ years of relevant experience, or PhD with 2+ years of relevant experience.
2+ years of experience in management consulting, capture strategy, capture operations, business development, proposal strategy, proposal operations, or another high-rigor analytical environment.
Demonstrated experience supporting complex defense, aerospace, intelligence, or U.S. Government pursuits.
Strong ability to develop and write detailed RFI, RFP, RFQ, white paper, or other customer-facing solicitation-response materials.
Exceptional PowerPoint, written communication, editing, and quality-control skills.
Demonstrated ability to develop capture storylines, win themes, messaging, and differentiated value propositions.
Strong analytical and conceptual problem-solving skills, with the ability to structure ambiguous problems and translate complex information into actionable outputs.
Experience managing cross-functional workflows, deliverables, and deadlines across multiple concurrent efforts.
Ability to work collaboratively across teams and influence stakeholders without direct authority.
U.S. citizenship required, with the ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance.
Preferred qualifications:
Experience in a strategy or operations consulting role supporting defense, aerospace, or public-sector clients.
Experience supporting capture efforts for U.S. Government contracts.
Experience with DoD or U.S. Government acquisition processes, requirements development, and competitive proposal environments.
Experience supporting U.S. and allied or international defense opportunities, including Foreign Military Sales, Direct Commercial Sales, or international business development.
Familiarity with uncrewed systems, autonomy, tactical aviation, mission systems, AI-enabled capabilities, or advanced aerospace programs.
Experience supporting proposal reviews, managing color-team processes, or serving in a proposal management, capture management, or strategy role.
Customer-interaction experience is preferred but not required.
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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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