Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the 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:
Shield AI’s International Business & Strategy team is hiring a Business Development Director to accelerate growth and support the adoption of its autonomy ecosystem: X-BAT, V-BAT, ViDAR, and Hivemind in Japan
The Director of Business Development will lead Shield AI’s growth strategy, building out a team that is responsible for significant annual orders targets. The Director must have deep defense, national security, or aerospace experience in the country / region (Japanese language fluency required), established government relationships, and a track record of closing complex defense programs (ideally across both hardware and software).
You will operate with significant autonomy and ownership, shaping country strategy, leading major pursuits, and building long-term defense partnerships. You will report to the Senior Director of International Business & Strategy (Middle East & Asia Pacific) and work closely with international business development colleagues around the globe, as well as product, engineering, and operations teams, to deliver mission-relevant autonomy capabilities at scale.
What you'll do:
- Own and execute Japan go-to-market strategy for Shield AI’s product portfolio, including X-BAT, V-BAT, ViDAR, and Hivemind.
- Maintain direct responsibility for annual order targets, multi-year pipeline development, and order growth.
- Lead end-to-end capture and sales efforts from early engagement through contract award and follow-on growth.
- Engage directly with senior military, government, and defense industry stakeholders across the region.
- Differentiate Shield AI in competitive and regulated defense procurements.
- Provide actionable market and customer intelligence to influence product roadmap and broader international strategy.
- Work cross-functionally with product, legal, export compliance, and operations.
- Lead proposal/program development and complex product demonstrations.
- Structure and manage local partnerships, primes, and industrial participation or offset strategies.
- Represent Shield AI at senior-level engagements, exhibitions, and industry forums.
Required qualifications:
- 10+ years business development experience in the country or broader region within defense, aerospace, or national security.
- Specific prior defense or government-facing experience in Japan with a deep understanding of procurement processes, offset requirements, export sensitivities, local defense primes, and indigenization requirements.
- Fluency in English & Japanese (written and spoken).
- Demonstrated success closing complex defense or government programs - ideally across both hardware (aircraft/UAS) and software (autonomy/ai).
- Technical experience with autonomy, UAVs, ISR, and advanced sensing technologies.
- Strong negotiation, relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills.
- Ability to manage multiple concurrent pursuits, involving technical products, in ambiguous environments.
- Proven cross-functional leadership across operations, product, and BD teams.
- Exceptional written, verbal, and presentation skills.
- Willingness and ability to travel frequently in country/region and internationally (~25%).
- Willingness and ability to work across multiple time zones
- Based in or willing to relocate to Tokyo, Japan.
- Mastery of critical business tools (Microsoft Suite – PPT, Excel, Word, LLMs, etc.)
- Experience forecasting, tracking, and managing deal cycles using Salesforce.
Preferred qualifications:
- U.S. Citizen (or dual national)
- Existing U.S. or allied security clearance.
- Currently based in country.
- Prior military service or operational leadership experience in Japan (++ if directly related to UAS, autonomy, or fighter jet aircraft).
- Prior experience supporting foreign military sales (via DSCA), engaging with SAF/IA, or working directly with foreign air forces.
- Direct experience with UAV operations, mission autonomy, AI-enabled C2 systems.
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Our international teammates receive a comprehensive total rewards package aligned to your country office location. For full details on compensation and benefits, please consult your talent acquisition partner.