Senior Executive Recruiter - Aircraft (R6521)

About this role

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:

We are seeking an intellectually curious, learning-agile, and strategic Senior Executive Recruiter to identify and attract exceptional leaders who will help shape Shield AI's future. As a fast-growing defense technology company, our hiring priorities evolve quickly, requiring adaptability, sound judgment, and the ability to navigate ambiguity while delivering results.

Reporting to the Head of Executive Search, the Senior Executive Recruiter – Aircraft will independently lead complex senior leadership searches across Shield AI's Aircraft organization, identifying leaders responsible for developing, producing, and scaling next-generation autonomous aircraft. This includes executive recruiting across hardware engineering, software engineering, manufacturing, production, supply chain, quality, and other critical technical and operational functions.

This senior individual contributor will own the full executive search lifecycle, from intake and market mapping through candidate assessment, offer negotiation, and close. The ideal candidate combines strong executive search fundamentals, business acumen, executive presence, operational rigor, and exceptional talent judgment. Success requires quickly developing expertise across technical disciplines, translating complex engineering requirements into effective recruiting strategies, building trusted relationships with senior leaders and cross-functional stakeholders, and delivering high-quality hiring outcomes. You will partner closely with business leaders, People Experience (PX) Business Partners, and Talent Acquisition colleagues to develop targeted search strategies aligned with business priorities.

Our Talent Acquisition team actively embraces AI and automation to accelerate research, improve decision-making, streamline execution, and create more capacity for high-value recruiting activities. We seek individuals who continuously identify innovative ways to improve executive search effectiveness.

What you'll do:

Executive Search Strategy & Execution

• Independently manage complex executive and senior leadership searches from intake and position scoping through market mapping, assessment, offer negotiation, and acceptance.

• Partner with senior leaders to define role requirements, success profiles, assessment criteria, search strategies, and hiring milestones.

• Identify, engage, and cultivate relationships with high-caliber, passive executive talent across aerospace and defense, AI, autonomy, software, robotics, and other relevant technical markets.

• Build targeted executive talent pipelines supporting immediate and anticipated leadership hiring needs.

• Execute searches across diverse technical disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, avionics, propulsion, software, autonomy, manufacturing, production, supply chain, quality, and operations.

• Anticipate search challenges, adjust strategies, and maintain accountability for hiring outcomes.

Executive Stakeholder Partnership

• Serve as a trusted advisor to senior business leaders, hiring managers, and PX Business Partners across assigned functions.

• Provide consultative guidance on talent availability, market dynamics, compensation expectations, and competitive positioning.

• Establish consistent communication and reporting cadences to maintain stakeholder alignment, transparency, and accountability.

• Influence hiring decisions through market intelligence, candidate insights, and evidence-based recommendations.

• Proactively manage expectations, resolve obstacles, and navigate competing priorities constructively.

Executive Assessment & Candidate Experience

• Conduct comprehensive executive assessments evaluating technical expertise, leadership capabilities, business impact, and alignment with Shield AI's mission and values.

• Apply structured interviews, competency frameworks, and assessment tools to support informed hiring decisions.

• Deliver clear, balanced candidate evaluations highlighting strengths, development areas, and potential risks.

• Partner with interview teams to drive consistent candidate calibration and effective selection decisions.

• Deliver an exceptional candidate experience while building long-term relationships with executive talent.

Market Intelligence & Talent Mapping

• Develop deep knowledge of executive talent markets across Aircraft engineering, manufacturing, production, supply chain, and related technical and operational functions.

• Partner with Global Talent Sourcing to execute targeted market mapping, competitive research, and candidate identification strategies.

• Provide actionable insights on talent availability, organizational structures, compensation trends, and competitive hiring practices.

• Leverage recruiting technology, research tools, and analytics to improve sourcing effectiveness, candidate engagement, and search outcomes.

Operational Excellence & Continuous Improvement

• Execute searches using established executive recruiting processes, assessment methodologies, tools, and templates.

• Maintain accurate, timely candidate and pipeline information in applicant tracking and recruiting systems.

• Track and communicate search metrics, including pipeline health, candidate conversion, search velocity, and hiring outcomes.

• Identify opportunities to improve recruiting efficiency, assessment quality, and stakeholder and candidate experience.

• Contribute executive search expertise…