Senior Director of Business Development - Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (R4831)

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 AI’s International Business & Strategy team is hiring a Senior Director Business Development to accelerate growth and support the adoption of its autonomy ecosystem: X-BAT, V-BAT, ViDAR, and Hivemind across Japan, South Korea and Taiwan

The Senior Director of Business Development will lead Shield AI’s regional growth strategy, building out a team that is responsible for significant annual orders targets. The leader must have deep defense, national security, or aerospace experience in the country / region (Japanese language fluency preferable), established government relationships, and a track record of closing complex defense programs (ideally across both hardware and software).

You will operate with significant autonomy and ownership, shaping country strategy, leading major pursuits, and building long-term defense partnerships. You will report to the Vice President of International Business & Strategy (Middle East & Asia Pacific) and work closely with international business development colleagues around the globe, as well as product, engineering, and operations teams, to deliver mission-relevant autonomy capabilities at scale.

What you'll do:

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- Own and execute regional (Japan/South Korea/Taiwan) 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.

Required qualifications:

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- 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/South Korea/Taiwan with a deep understanding of procurement processes, offset requirements, export sensitivities, local defense primes, and indigenization requirements.

- Fluency in English & Japanese preferable (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

- Willingness and ability to work across multiple time zones

- Based today in 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:

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- Existing U.S. or allied security clearance.

- 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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Our international teammates receive a comprehensive total rewards package aligned to your country office location. For full details on compensation and benefits, please consult your talent acquisition partner.