Business Development Operations Associate - Europe & Africa (R3368)

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent, autonomous systems. Its products include Hivemind Enterprise—EdgeOS, Pilot, Commander, and Forge—as well as V-BAT and Sentient Vision Systems (wide-area motion imaging software). With offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kyiv (Ukraine), and Melbourne (Australia), Shield AI’s technology actively supports U.S. and allied operations worldwide.

The Europe and Africa Business Team, based out of Oslo, Norway, handles all strategy and business development activity in these regions. This team works closely with US-based Growth, Product, Operations and other internal functions as well as a variety of international partners and entities. It is our responsibility to build Shield AI’s business in these key markets, source opportunities, win deals, and execute international programs.

The Role: Think of this role as the Defense Tech equivalent to an Investment Banking/Management Consulting Associate program or Chief of Staff role. You will work side by side with, be trained by/support experienced defense professionals allowing you to quickly climb the steep learning curve of the industry, company, and international business. Through your work owning a wide variety of critical projects you will have direct impact on nearly all facets of the international business and develop a deep understanding of the company and industry. By the end of your first year you will be uniquely equipped to source new business opportunities and help close international defense contracts.

What you’ll do:

• Operate as a Chief of Staff for International BD Senior Director for the first year, learning the requisite skills to become a producing member of the team.
• Be our one point of contact/liaison to all US offices and cross-functional teams.
• Own special projects across the Europe and Africa international team.
• Acquire the tools, skills, knowledge, and internal/external relationships required to develop and close international business opportunities.
• Engage with customers regularly to present and discuss Shield AI products (attend trade shows, exhibitions, or other industry events).
• Plan and execute product demonstrations, lead proposal responses, manage budget.

Required qualifications:

• Living and working abroad excites you (must expatriate to Norway for 2+ years).
• Desire to help build the defining defense technology company of this century.
• More than 5 years experience in management consulting, investment banking, public service, defense, or growth/operations at a startup.
• Excellent communicator - written, spoken, and interpersonal - with a knack for tone.
• Systematically organized - you should be slightly embarrassed of how well you manage your inbox, calendar, and desktop files.
• Depth of technical skill in standard tools (90%tile user of Excel, PPT, Outlook, etc.) and a breadth of understanding in modern work tools (Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, SmartSheets, Adobe, Canva, Canto, etc.).
• No task is beneath you, no responsibility intimidates you.
• Bias towards action. You solve problems before others know they existed.
• You are a student of the world and are meticulously aware of current events and cultural sensitivities.

Preferred qualifications:

• United States Citizen.
• Demonstrated record of entrepreneurial achievement and/or leadership.
• Specific strategy or business development experience outside of the Americas.
• Understanding and knowledge of military operations and the acquisition process.
• Technical knowledge within the UAV and/or AI disciplines.
• Willing and able to travel domestically and internationally, frequently and without restriction, including customer sites.
• Relevant Foreign Language Skills.
• MBA or advanced degree in a related field, and 6+ years of leadership and/or operational experience within the DoD or international equivalents (e.g., MoD).
• You have built a resilient life/schedule and enjoy working at a place where no one minds if you leave early for an appointment or use all your vacation days, but you are also happy to respond to an email while sitting at home after hours.

Our international team members are employed through our Employer of Record (EOR) and receive a comprehensive international benefits package on top of base salary. For full details on compensation and benefits, please consult your talent acquisition partner.