Chief of Staff, AI Hive

About the role

You will own the end to end orchestration of the AI Hive initiative, translating the vision for intelligent, autonomous systems into a coherent roadmap and measurable milestones. You will serve as the primary strategic thought partner to the executive owner, challenging assumptions and refining approaches to ensure the initiative moves from concept to validated execution. In this capacity, you will design and manage the operating model that allows diverse teams to collaborate seamlessly, removing blockers and aligning incentives across the organization. You will establish the narrative and data driven cadence that keeps the initiative transparent, accountable, and adaptable to shifting market and technical conditions. You will coordinate the flow of information and decisions across engineering, product, finance, and operations to maintain momentum and prevent siloed thinking. You will identify and manage cross functional dependencies, ensuring that the necessary resources, data, and tooling are in place to support timely delivery. You will facilitate rigorous review cycles, synthesizing input from stakeholders into clear recommendations that enable leaders to make faster, better informed decisions. You will act as a catalyst for continuous improvement, embedding feedback loops and learning mechanisms into the team's rhythm to elevate organizational effectiveness over time.

Key facts

What you'll do

Coordinate the end to end execution of the AI Hive initiative, defining workstreams, timelines, and success metrics that are aligned with enterprise objectives.

Partner with Finance to construct and monitor business cases, ensuring that investment in AI Hive capabilities is justified, tracked, and optimized across the portfolio of programs.

Collaborate with Engineering and Product to translate high level requirements into actionable technical specifications and iterative delivery plans that respect system constraints and opportunities.

Establish cross functional governance structures, defining decision rights, escalation paths, and communication protocols that enable rapid issue resolution.

Lead the development of roadmaps and dependency maps, visualizing how capabilities, data, and infrastructure must evolve to support the AI Hive vision.

Coordinate with Operations and Facilities to ensure that physical and logistical constraints are understood and integrated into planning for labs, test sites, and rollout sequences.

Synthesize input from Legal, Security, and Compliance to identify and mitigate risks, ensuring that initiatives adhere to contractual, regulatory, and policy requirements.

Work with People and IT to shape talent strategies, resourcing plans, and tooling choices that remove friction and enable teams to perform at a high level.

Champion data driven decision making by designing feedback mechanisms, performance indicators, and review rituals that surface insights and drive corrective action.

Act as the central coordination point for cross initiative alignment, ensuring that efforts related to Hivemind, V B AT, X B AT, and Aechelon are synchronized where appropriate.

Facilitate structured review sessions with stakeholders, capturing decisions, rationales, and open issues to maintain a clear and shared understanding of progress.

Develop and maintain communication artifacts such as dashboards, briefs, and summaries that translate complex operational data into accessible narratives for leaders.

Champion scenario based planning, enabling the organization to evaluate tradeoffs, anticipate second order effects, and adapt strategies as conditions evolve.

Build and sustain trusted relationships across the organization, positioning yourself as a neutral broker who can navigate competing priorities and find pragmatic solutions.

Requirements

Candidates must be a minimum of thirty five years of age with a decade of cumulative professional experience in relevant domains.

You must possess a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, with preference given to those who hold advanced degrees in relevant fields.

You must demonstrate a track record of delivering complex initiatives in fast paced, matrixed, and often ambiguous environments.

You must have experience working with defense, aerospace, or mission critical technology programs, understanding the associated constraints and compliance considerations.

You must be comfortable operating in international contexts, coordinating across time zones, cultures, and regulatory environments.

You must have strong written and verbal communication skills, able to synthesize technical concepts for both specialist and non specialist audiences.

You must be proficient in data analysis and modeling, capable of using quantitative information to inform decisions and communicate tradeoffs.

You must be willing to travel occasionally in support of program needs, understanding that temporary relocation may be required to meet critical milestones.

Nice to have

Experience with simulation, digital twin, or synthetic environment platforms, particularly those relevant to defense and training applications.

Familiarity with autonomy stacks, including perception, planning, and control layers relevant to aerial systems.

Knowledge of venture backed or high growth technology organizations, where agility and rapid iteration are essential.

Experience supporting teams that use collaborative development tools, version control, and continuous integration practices.

Background in aerospace, aviation, or unmanned systems, including an understanding of safety critical workflows and verification practices.

Practical notes

This role is based in Bangalore under an International Office Entity, and the work may require occasional travel to other Shield AI offices.

Candidates should be prepared for occasional travel to meet project objectives, with arrangements handled in accordance with company policy.

Visa sponsorship may be considered for eligible candidates, subject to role and immigration requirements.

Applicants must meet the stated eligibility criteria without exception, and no partial substitutions will be accepted.

The selection process will prioritize candidates who can demonstrate concrete evidence of the required experience and capabilities.