Compensation Director, Aircraft Engineering and Manufacturing (R6270)
Shield AIShield 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: The Compensation Director, Aircraft Engineering and Manufacturing , serves as the strategic compensation leader for the Aircraft division, providing enterprise-level oversight for compensation programs supporting manufacturing, production, operations, supply chain, logistics, customer success, and skilled trades. This role defines compensation strategy for large, complex employee populations while ensuring programs are competitive, scalable, compliant, and aligned with business objectives. As the organization's subject matter expert for manufacturing and operations compensation, the Director partners closely with business leaders, Px Business Partners, Finance, and Legal to design compensation programs that enable business growth, talent attraction, workforce scalability, and operational excellence. The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in manufacturing compensation strategy, non-exempt workforce design, market intelligence, and executive consulting, with a demonstrated ability to influence enterprise decisions and build compensation frameworks that support rapidly growing operations. What you'll do: Compensation Strategy & Enterprise Leadership Develop and lead the compensation strategy supporting Aircraft manufacturing, production, operations, supply chain, logistics, customer success, and skilled trades populations. Serve as the SME on manufacturing and operations compensation, shaping long-term compensation philosophy and governance. Partner with business leadership to align compensation strategy with business growth, workforce planning, organizational design, and operational priorities. Drive compensation initiatives supporting facility expansions, new business models, geographic growth, and workforce transformation. Manufacturing & Operations Compensation Lead the design and evolution of compensation structures supporting large non-exempt employee populations. Establish wage structures, geographic differentials, shift premium strategies, progression frameworks, and other compensation programs that balance external competitiveness with internal equity. Oversee market pricing methodologies utilizing Radford, Mercer, WTW, and specialized manufacturing compensation surveys alongside complementary market intelligence. Develop innovative compensation approaches to attract and retain highly competitive manufacturing, technical, and operational talent. Executive Partnership & Business Consulting Serve as the trusted compensation advisor to Aircraft executives and business leaders. Consult on organization design, workforce investments, location strategy, and talent acquisition decisions with significant financial and organizational impact in partnership with the Px Business Partner. Provide strategic guidance on compensation implications of organizational changes, acquisitions, new facilities, and business expansion. Present compensation recommendations and analyses to executive leadership with clear business rationale and risk assessments. Compensation Analytics & Insights Lead enterprise compensation analyses including market competitiveness, pay equity, workforce cost modeling, and incentive effectiveness. Translate complex compensation data into actionable insights for executive stakeholders. Anticipate market trends and proactively recommend compensation strategies that strengthen organizational competitiveness. Governance, Compliance & Program Excellence Establish governance framewor…