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).

Key Responsibilities:

• 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.

Requirements:

• 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.

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