Head of Business Development, Japan (R3905)

What you'll do:

• Serve as Shield AI’s senior District representative across Japan, engaging senior military, government, and industry stakeholders while ensuring operational and regulatory compliance across activities in the district.  
• Develop and execute a unified District strategy aligned with priorities in Japan, integrating country-level efforts into coordinated campaigns and bilateral frameworks.  
• Own district quota and sales performance, including pipeline development, forecast accuracy, order intake, and opportunity execution from shaping through close.  
• Provide strategic direction and coordination for Country Business Development Leads across the District, setting priorities, driving execution discipline, and aligning stakeholder engagement and market strategy.  
• District business growth across Shield AI’s product portfolio, including V-BAT, X-BAT, ViDAR and Hivemind, ensuring alignment with product and regional leadership priorities.  
• Oversee cross-functional coordination across Business Development, Government Relations, Program Management, Legal, Contracts, PX, Marketing and Customer Operations to support successful capture, execution, and customer outcomes.  
• Ensure successful execution of active district opportunities, maintaining accountability for performance, timelines, customer satisfaction, and long-term strategic growth.  
• Build and maintain a disciplined, data-driven district pipeline and stakeholder engagement strategy to support sustained growth and follow-on business opportunities.  
• Develop and manage district partnerships, resellers, and strategic industry relationships to expand market access and accelerate operational execution.  
• Identify and mitigate political, procurement, operational, and strategic risks across the district while providing executive visibility into performance, risks, and growth outlook. 

Required qualifications:

• Typically requires 10+ years of experience in defence, military operations, business development, capture management, or international government relations. 
• Deep technical and operational understanding of Shield AI systems and technologies, including V-BAT, Hivemind, and X-BAT, with knowledge of operational employment concepts, payload integration, training, sustainment, and deployed operations.  
• Proven experience operating across multiple international markets within defence, aerospace, or national security environments, including navigating complex government procurement and stakeholder ecosystems.  
• Demonstrated ability to lead distributed, cross-functional teams and align senior stakeholders across multiple countries, cultures, and operational environments.  
• Strong executive presence with experience engaging senior military leadership, Ministries of Defence, U.S. Embassies/ODCs, stakeholders, and strategic industry partners in high-visibility environments.  
• Proven track record of driving pipeline development, capture strategy, and successful closure of complex, high-value defence opportunities. 
• English and Japanese language proficiency relevant to the assigned district. 
• Bachelor degree or relevant military education preferred. 

Preferred qualifications:

• Prior district leadership experience across allied defence markets, including Japan, or other international government environments.  
• Existing relationships with the Ministry of Defence, senior military leadership, defence procurement organizations, and strategic industry stakeholders.  
• Experience leading international defence captures, Foreign Military Sales (FMS), or multinational procurement programs.  
• Operational understanding of ISR, autonomy, unmanned systems, AI-enabled capabilities, and modern defence technology employment concepts.  
• Experience managing district consultants, resellers, strategic partnerships, or industrial participation/offset initiatives.  
• Familiarity with Japanese operational frameworks, allied capability development, and district defence modernization priorities.  
• Demonstrated success operating in high-growth, fast-paced, and internationally distributed environments. 
• Ability to attain or existing relevant national security clearance. 
• Master’s degree in a relevant field. 

Why join Shield AI:

• Help build the defining defence technology company of this century.  
• Work at the forefront of AI, autonomy, and next-generation defence systems.  
• Operate in a highly entrepreneurial and mission-driven environment.  
• Make a direct impact on international growth and strategic defence partnerships.  
• Collaborate with exceptional teams solving some of the world’s most complex operational challenges.