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Senior Staff Technical Program Manager (R5886)

Shield AI

Seattle, WAFull-time$180–270K/yrPosted todayStill listed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$180–270K/yr
Location
Seattle, WA
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Citizenship required

Olive focuses on jobs in the United States, including remote roles you can work from there.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Top Secret clearance, required

Job overview

Shield AI seeks a Technical Program Manager to guide autonomous aircraft conceptual design and tradespace analysis. The role sets objectives from customer use cases, develops cost-versus-performance metrics, manages schedule and cost, and delivers strategic products to customers. The ideal candidate owns execution, aligns stakeholders, communicates effectively, and makes informed decisions about system design, mission utility, and cost trades.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Technical Program Management, requiredDefense Domain Familiarity, requiredNational Security Domain Familiarity, requiredAerospace Domain Familiarity, requiredCross-Functional Team Leadership, requiredAmbiguity Management, requiredAnalytical Skills, requiredProblem-Solving, requiredWritten Communication, requiredVerbal Communication, requiredTechnical Project Management, requiredProduct Narrative Development, requiredProduct Discovery, requiredTechnology Discovery, requiredMarket Discovery, required

Qualifications

Bachelor's or Master's in Engineering, Computer Science, or Related, required10+ Years Technical Program Management or Project Experience, requiredActive Secret Clearance and Top Secret Eligibility, requiredActive Top Secret Clearance and SCI Eligibility, required

Full 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:

We are looking for an exceptional Technical Program Manager to guide and manage our next-generation autonomous aircraft conceptual design and tradespace analysis effort. You will be responsible for setting objectives based on customer provide use cases, developing metrics for reporting cost vs. performance trades, planning and managing the effort schedule and cost, and development and delivery of strategic products to customers. This role requires a versatile individual who can understand the aviation autonomy market, understand warfighter needs, and make difficult and informed decisions regarding system design, mission utility, and cost trades.

The ideal candidate will maintain ownership over the effort execution, proactively engage and align stakeholders, demonstrate exceptional levels of communication, and ensure on-time and on-target delivery of product to customers.

Required qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s or Master's Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.

  • 10+ years of experience in technical program management or managing studies or projects.

  • Defense, national security, or aerospace domain familiarity through employment or education.

  • Proven track record of leading and facilitating cross-functional teams.

  • Self-starter with a proven track record of forging clarity and structure in the face of ambiguous or dynamic constraints.

  • World-class analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to quickly synthesize disparate viewpoints to deliver well-informed, data-backed decisions.

  • Relentless learner who can develop specialized knowledge in niche domains.

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

  • Active Secret clearance and eligibility for Top Secret.

  • Experiencing owning and driving technical projects that balance engineering development realities against the speed of business growth.

  • Experience translating technical information and customer needs into comprehensible product narratives.

  • Experience conducting product, technology, and market discovery with subject matter experts.

  • Active Top Secret clearance and eligibility for SCI.

#LI-AD6

#LE

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.

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.

How this job compares

Set against the 3,617 open Technical Program Manager jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 13, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$180–270K/yr
  • Washington median$149–201K/yr343 salary ranges
  • US median$127–220K/yr3,329 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $225K, is 29% above the Washington median midpoint ($175K) — in the top quarter of Technical Program Manager salary ranges in Washington.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 353 open Technical Program Manager jobs in Washington and 3,617 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Washington
Experience
This posting asks for at least 10 years of experience — more than three in four Technical Program Manager postings that state a minimum ask for (median 7 years, across 2,815 postings).
Education
618 of the 3,617 open Technical Program Manager jobs (17%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 13, 2026. Figures based on too few postings are left out.

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