Senior Operations Analyst
Shield AI
IT, Operations
Washington, DC, USA
USD 123,199-184,799 / year + Equity
Posted on Jan 22, 2026
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.
We are seeking an Operational Analyst to contribute to the modeling, simulation, and analysis of Shield AI’s autonomous systems. In this role, you will perform mission-level analyses to evaluate the effectiveness, survivability, and operational impact of our autonomy solutions across multiple platforms and domains. You will collaborate closely with engineering, product, and defense stakeholders to assess system performance, inform design trade-offs, and improve mission outcomes.
This position requires a strong working knowledge of military operations, modeling & simulation (M&S), data science, and operational analysis techniques. Your analyses will directly support product decisions and customer engagements by helping demonstrate how Shield AI’s AI-powered platforms perform in realistic and contested operational environments.
What You'll Do:
- Execute operational analyses to assess the effectiveness of autonomous systems in representative military scenarios.
- Develop and run modeling, simulation, and wargaming analyses to evaluate system performance, mission impact, and survivability in contested environments.
- Collaborate with engineering teams and product managers to translate operational findings into actionable system insights.
- Perform trade studies and sensitivity analyses to assess system performance across varying operational conditions, assumptions, and threat environments.
- Build, modify, and analyze mission-level models using tools such as AFSIM, STK, MATLAB, Python, or similar M&S frameworks.
- Analyze force-on-force engagements, sensor performance, and autonomy-enabled behaviors to support mission effectiveness assessments.
- Engage with DoD stakeholders, operators, and analysts to understand mission needs and operational constraints.
- Contribute to the development and refinement of concepts of operations (CONOPS) for AI-enabled aircraft capabilities.
- Monitor emerging threats and operational challenges relevant to autonomous and air combat systems.
- Prepare technical documentation, analysis reports, and briefings for internal teams, customers, and government stakeholders.
- Apply modern compute and development best practices (e.g., version control, scripting, scalable compute workflows, and reproducible analysis) to build and maintain reliable analysis pipelines.
Required Qualifications:
- 5+ years of experience in operational analysis, modeling & simulation, operations research, or related defense or aerospace roles.
- Strong working knowledge of military operations, mission analysis, and wargaming methodologies.
- Proficiency with one or more modeling and simulation tools such as AFSIM, STK, MATLAB, Python, or similar.
- Understanding of air operations, ISR, fires, electronic warfare, or autonomous systems in contested environments.
- Experience collaborating with engineers, analysts, and cross-functional stakeholders to support technical decision-making.
- Demonstrated ability to apply modern technical workflows (e.g., Git-based version control, scripting, basic automation, cloud/HPC environments) to analytical work.
- Ability to communicate analysis results clearly through written reports and verbal briefings.
- Comfort working in a fast-paced, iterative development environment with evolving priorities.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Prior experience in force-on-force analysis, CONOPS development, or military campaign modeling.
- Familiarity with DoD acquisition processes, Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS), and military operational testing.
- Experience integrating AI-driven decision-making algorithms into operational analysis frameworks.
- Prior military service or experience working with U.S. Air Force, Navy, or Special Operations Forces.
- Active Secret or Top-Secret clearance (or ability to obtain one).
#LI-ED1
#LC
Full-time regular employee offer package:
Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity
Temporary employee offer package:
Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment)
Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.
###
Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.
123199 - 184799 USD a year