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Shield AI

Posted 2 months ago

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Senior Director of Business Development - Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (R4831)

TokyoRemoteFull-time

AI Summary

Senior Director of Business Development responsible for leading Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan growth for Shield AI, owning go-to-market strategy, securing government and defense programs, and building regional partnerships.

About this role

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. 

    • Skills

    Advanced Sensing TechnologiesAutonomyContract NegotiationsCross-functional LeadershipEnglish Language ProficiencyGovernment/defense ProcurementIndustrial Participation Or OffsetsISRJapanese Language ProficiencyLocal Defense PrimesMicrosoft Office (PPT, Excel, Word)Offset And Export Controls UnderstandingProposal And Program DevelopmentSalesforceStakeholder ManagementUAVs

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