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 https://shield.ai/. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/shield-ai, X https://x.com/shieldaitech, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shield_ai, and YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@Shield_AI.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
Shield is scaling fast, and our internal systems, security posture, and ways of working are changing with it. We're looking for a hands-on change management lead to build our OCM function from the ground up for IT, Enterprise Operations, and Cybersecurity. This person is not a generic change practitioner. They understand the technology well enough to earn credibility with engineers, anticipate where a rollout will break, and translate technical change into something every employee can act on.
What you'll do:
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- Build Shield's OCM program for technical functions: frameworks, templates, playbooks, intake process, and success metrics.
- Own change strategy and execution for major initiatives, such as identity and access changes, endpoint and device management, security controls and compliance requirements (e.g., CMMC/NIST 800-171), ERP and business system rollouts, collaboration tool migrations, and new IT service models.
- Partner with IT, EntOps, and Cyber leaders early in project planning to assess impact, readiness, and risk, rather than joining at launch.
- Run stakeholder analysis and change impact assessments across engineering, manufacturing, flight ops, and corporate teams.
- Create communications, training, and enablement: announcements, FAQs, how-to guides, short videos, office hours, and change champion networks.
- Measure adoption with real data (ticket volume, usage telemetry, compliance rates, surveys) and adjust course.
- Coordinate release and change calendars so employees don't get hit with five disruptions in one week.
- Act as the voice of the end user in technical decisions, and push back when a rollout plan isn't ready for humans.
Required qualifications:
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- 8+ years in organizational change management, with at least 3 years supporting IT, security, or enterprise technology programs.
- Real technical fluency. You can hold your own in conversations about SSO/MFA, identity providers (Okta, Entra ID), MDM (Intune, Jamf), ITSM (ServiceNow, Jira Service Management), SaaS migrations, and security controls. You don't need to configure them, but you need to understand them.
- A track record of building a change function or program, not just executing someone else's.
- Strong writing skills. You can turn a dense technical spec into a clear two-paragraph announcement.
- Comfort operating with ambiguity in a fast-moving, high-growth environment.
- Familiarity with a change methodology (Prosci/ADKAR, Kotter, or similar), applied pragmatically rather than dogmatically.
Preferred qualifications:
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- Experience in defense, aerospace, or other regulated environments (CMMC, ITAR, FedRAMP, NIST).
- Prosci or CCMP certification.
- Background in IT project management, service delivery, or technical training.
- Experience supporting security awareness or compliance programs.
How we measure success in year one:
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- An OCM framework and intake process adopted by IT, EntOps, and Cyber.
- Measurable adoption and reduced support tickets on major rollouts.
- Leaders across these functions pulling you in by default at project kickoff.
#LI-KE1
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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.
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