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 an Aircraft Configuration Manager to serve as the enterprise source of truth for fleet configuration and the lead for cross-functional configuration change execution within Aircraft Division.
The Fleet Strategy & Portfolio Management function owns the configuration state of the fielded fleet across the enterprise. Where Engineering owns configuration design and baselines, Fleet Strategy closes the gap between design intent and operational reality: tracking what version each tail is actually in, reconciling discrepancies across departments, and planning the rollout of configuration updates across the fleet.
The Aircraft Configuration Manager will consolidate fragmented configuration data from across the enterprise into a single authoritative record; plan, coordinate, and track quarterly configuration update rollouts across all aircraft; serve as the primary Fleet Strategy interface to Engineering for new configurations and ECPs; and maintain audit-quality records of every configuration change. This role requires formal configuration management expertise, strong cross-functional coordination skills, and the ability to drive update campaigns to 100% fleet compliance.
What you'll do:
Enterprise Configuration Source of Truth
Maintain the authoritative catalog of approved aircraft configurations across the enterprise: every variant, build standard, payload combination, and software baseline currently in operation or planned.
Reconcile configuration data tracked separately by Engineering, Sustainment, Customer Success, and Field Operations into a single ground-truth record.
Resolve discrepancies between departments and own the corrected master state.
Quarterly Update Planning & Execution
Receive configuration release packages from Engineering each quarter and build the rollout plan that determines which aircraft get updated when, by whom, and in what sequence.
Coordinate installation windows with Sustainment, AVOs, Field Operations, and customers on deployed aircraft.
Track update status from kickoff through 100% fleet compliance and report progress to Mission Control and senior leadership.
Cross-Functional Configuration Coordination
Serve as the primary Fleet Strategy interface to Engineering for new configurations, ECPs, and design changes that affect the fielded fleet.
Coordinate update windows with customers operating deployed aircraft.
Schedule Sustainment or field teams for installation activities.
Flag configuration constraints (eligibility, dependencies, downtime impacts) to Mission Control during fleet allocation decisions.
Configuration Change Records & Compliance
Maintain audit-quality records of every configuration change to every aircraft in the fleet.
Ensure compliance with contractual configuration requirements per customer and per program.
Support internal and customer audits with complete documentation of fielded configuration state and change history.
Required qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Aviation Management, Operations Research, or related field.
7+ years of experience in aerospace configuration management, program management, or fleet operations.
Formal configuration management experience: baselines, ECPs, TDP, change control boards.
Demonstrated ability to coordinate cross-functional rollout plans across multiple internal organizations.
Strong organizational and documentation skills.
Excellent communication skills with the ability to interface across Engineering, Operations, and customer-facing organizations.
Preferred qualifications:
Advanced degree in Engineering Management or Systems Engineering.
Prior military experience in aviation maintenance, logistics, or program management with exposure to configuration management.
Experience managing fleet-wide software or hardware update campaigns.
Familiarity with V-BAT, fixed-wing UAS, or other unmanned aircraft systems.
Experience with PLM, ERP, or configuration tracking platforms.
Understanding of contractual configuration requirements in government contracts (FFP, CPFF, OTA).
