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:
Shield AI is seeking a Ground Support & Payload Analyst to serve as the data backbone for ground support equipment and payloads within the Fleet Strategy & Portfolio Management function in Aircraft Division.
Fleet Strategy & Portfolio Management is responsible for translating asset visibility into business-grounded recommendations on how to align aircraft, ground support equipment, and payloads across customers, programs, captures, and internal demand. The function maintains authoritative, real-time ledgers of every asset in the enterprise fleet and turns that visibility into the dashboards, forecasts, and configuration intelligence that drive enterprise decision-making.
The Ground Support & Payload Analyst will maintain the authoritative ledger of all ground support equipment and payloads across the enterprise, build and own the analytical infrastructure that supports GSE and payload decisions, and translate that data into clear recommendations for the Senior Manager and Mission Control leadership. This role requires deep understanding of GSE operations, payload systems, and rigorous data discipline. Deployment planning, fleet allocation, and capture support decisions depend on the accuracy and timeliness of the data this role produces.
What you'll do:
GSE & Payload Ledger & Configuration Intelligence
Maintain authoritative, real-time visibility of every piece of ground support equipment and every payload across the enterprise, including location, configuration, hours of use, condition, modification status, and remaining useful life.
Track configuration history and downstream impacts as GSE and payloads cycle through customer deployments, test campaigns, training events, and depot-level maintenance.
Coordinate with Engineering, Manufacturing, and Sustainment to ensure the ledger reflects ground truth at all times.
Analytics Infrastructure & Reporting
Build and maintain the analytical infrastructure that makes GSE and payload decisions repeatable and defensible: utilization dashboards, configuration intelligence tooling, lifecycle forecasting, and routine inventory reporting.
Generate rolling 6, 12, and 24-month forecasts of GSE and payload availability and configuration posture to support contractual commitments, capture activities, and deployment planning.
Continuously improve data quality and tooling so the function scales as the fleet grows.
Decision Support
Translate GSE and payload visibility into clear, decision-ready briefings for the Senior Manager and Mission Control leadership.
Surface portfolio-level patterns (underutilized equipment, payload availability gaps, deployment-impacting shortages) that warrant strategic attention.
Provide rapid analytical support for ad hoc GSE and payload questions from senior leadership, Business Development, Program Management, and Field Operations.
Required qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in Operations Research, Engineering, Aviation Management, Data Analytics, or related field.
5+ years of combined military and/or industry experience in aviation logistics, ground support equipment management, payload systems, or enterprise asset management.
Strong proficiency in data tools (Tableau, Power BI, SQL, Excel) with demonstrated ability to build and maintain dashboards used by senior leadership.
Working knowledge of GSE operations, payload systems, or fleet asset management principles.
Strong written and verbal communication, with the ability to translate operational data into clear narratives for non-analyst audiences.
Excellent attention to detail and discipline in maintaining data quality.
Preferred qualifications:
Prior military aviation maintenance, logistics, or AGE/GSE management experience.
Familiarity with formal military planning processes (MDMP, JOPP, or equivalent).
Experience with lifecycle modeling, RUL forecasting, or asset management in aerospace or defense contexts.
Exposure to government contract structures (FFP, CPFF, OTA) and how they shape asset allocation.
Experience supporting capture activities, capacity modeling, or proposal feasibility analysis.
Familiarity with unmanned aircraft systems, payloads, or AGE associated with UAS operations.
