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Shield AI, a venture-backed defense-tech company, is seeking a Staff Production Engineering Specialist to lead manufacturing excellence for the V-BAT aircraft production program. This is a high-impact individual contributor role with company-wide scope across production operations, training, continuous improvement, and data analytics.
You will own three interconnected pillars:
**Training & Workforce Development**: Design and deliver the complete V-BAT production training program, including onboarding, role-based curricula, cross-training, recertification, and technician qualification records. Develop classroom, workstation, and on-the-job training for assembly, production, and test processes. Maintain skills matrices, training assessments, and readiness metrics. Continuously identify skill gaps, align training to production needs, and measure effectiveness through observations, competency checks, audits, feedback, and performance data.
**Lean Manufacturing & Continuous Improvement**: Lead continuous-improvement initiatives using lean principles (5S, visual management, standard work, root-cause analysis, waste reduction, flow optimization) to drive safety, quality, delivery, and cost improvements. Use production and quality data to identify and resolve bottlenecks, cycle-time variation, defects, rework, material-flow issues, downtime, ergonomic risks, and capability gaps. Own the CCAR (Corrective/Preventive Action) process and lead the Manufacturing Council to create a closed-loop system that turns technician feedback and shop-floor opportunities into prioritized, implemented, verified, and sustained improvements.
**Data Analytics & Operating Model**: Build a data-driven operating model by establishing standardized performance metrics, reporting cadences, and visual management routines. Develop and maintain daily, weekly, and monthly dashboards tracking output vs. plan, throughput, first-pass yield, defects/rework, cycle time, downtime, labor efficiency, training completion, and cross-training coverage. Analyze production capacity, staffing, and improvement impact using takt time, labor content, workstation capacity, skills readiness, and before-and-after performance data to support production-ramp planning.
Shield AI's products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation technologies, actively supporting operations worldwide across U.S., European, Middle Eastern, and Asia-Pacific locations.
**Requirements:**
- Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering, or Data Analytics; equivalent technical experience in avionics or aerospace production considered
- 3+ years in a manufacturing or technical support role, preferably in aerospace, defense, UAS, or complex hardware manufacturing
- Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, highly dynamic environments with evolving priorities
- Excellent analytical, organizational, and communication skills
- U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain/maintain a security clearance
**Preferred Qualifications:**
- Experience with data visualization tools (Power BI, Palantir, Tableau, Cognos, Microsoft Access)
- Proficiency in Lean Manufacturing principles (5S, visual management, standard work, root-cause analysis, waste reduction, flow optimization)
- Ability to translate technician feedback and production challenges into structured problem-solving
- Experience operating, maintaining, and facilitating training programs across large-scale operations
- Excellent communication and presentation skills to train and influence technicians, supervisors, and cross-functional stakeholders
