a16z Director, Engineering Excellence & Enablement
Posted Updated
Summary
Leads engineering strategy and operational excellence for a defense-tech company, improving team productivity, quality, and execution predictability through modern practices and cross-functional initiatives.
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 . Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Job Description:
The Director of Engineering Excellence & Enablement is a strategic leader responsible for improving the effectiveness, efficiency, and execution maturity of the engineering organization. Reporting to the VP of Engineering, this leader partners closely with Engineering, Product, Program Management, and other cross-functional leaders to translate company and product strategy into scalable engineering capabilities, operational rhythms, and enterprise-wide initiatives.
This role is equal parts strategy, execution, organizational design, and operational excellence. Success is measured by enabling engineering teams to deliver predictably, operate efficiently, and continuously improve while maintaining alignment across the broader organization.
What you'll do:
Engineering Strategy & Organizational Enablement
- Partner with the VP of Engineering to translate business and product strategy into engineering capabilities, operating models, and execution plans.
- Develop and evolve the engineering operating system, including planning processes, governance, decision-making frameworks, and organizational rhythms.
- Identify capability gaps and recommend investments in people, processes, tooling, and organizational structure.
Engineering Excellence
- Define and drive engineering excellence initiatives focused on developer productivity, quality, reliability, operational maturity, and continuous improvement.
- Establish engineering effectiveness metrics and dashboards that provide visibility into organizational health, delivery performance, and engineering productivity.
- Champion adoption of modern engineering practices, standards, and continuous improvement methodologies.
Operational Cadence & Execution
- Establish and facilitate consistent engineering operating cadences including strategic planning, quarterly planning, roadmap reviews, engineering leadership meetings, business reviews, and operational retrospectives/after-action reviews.
- Drive accountability for execution across engineering leadership while identifying and resolving organizational bottlenecks.
- Improve planning accuracy, prioritization, dependency management, and execution predictability.
Enterprise Engineering Initiatives
- Lead complex, cross-functional engineering initiatives that span multiple teams and organizations.
- Drive strategic programs such as AI enablement, developer experience improvements, technical governance, and organizational scaling initiatives.
- Coordinate executive communications, status reporting, risk management, and stakeholder engagement for enterprise programs.
Organizational Effectiveness
- Partner with engineering leaders to improve organizational health, team effectiveness, and leadership maturity.
- Standardize engineering processes where appropriate while preserving team autonomy.
- Foster a culture of operational excellence, continuous learning, and data-informed decision making.
Required qualifications:
- 10+ years of engineering leadership, technical program management, engineering operations, or related experience.
- Demonstrated success leading large-scale cross-functional initiatives in complex technology organizations.
- Experience establishing engineering operating models, governance, planning processes, and execution frameworks.
- Strong understanding of modern software engineering organizations, Agile development, DevOps, and engineering metrics in the Aerospace & Defense industry.
- Proven ability to influence senior leaders without relying on direct authority.
- Exceptional communication, facilitation, organizational, and executive presentation skills.
- Strong analytical mindset with experience using data to drive organizational improvements.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience partnering directly with VP or C-level technology executives.
- Experience scaling engineering organizations through periods of rapid growth or transformation.
- Familiarity with developer productivity and organizational effectiveness measurement.
#LF
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.
###
Shield AI is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, gender identity or Veteran status. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please let us know.
Skills
As published by lever · 19 questions · 9 written answers
Basics
Resume/CV, Full name, Email, Phone, Current location, Current company, LinkedIn URL, Twitter URL, GitHub URL, Portfolio URL, Other website
Short answers (1)
- Please state your full legal name:
Pick from a list (9)
- Are you authorized to work in the United States?
- Will you require sponsorship for employment now or in the future?
- This position may require access to information and technology that is subject to export controls, such as EAR. Are you any of the following?
- Shield AI provides technology, services, and support to the United States military and allied forces with their various missions. If selected for employment with Shield AI, your contributions will directly relate to and/or support these missions. Are there any reasons why you would not be able to fully contribute in support of the U.S. military and allied forces?
- How did you hear about us?
- Are you a transitioning service member?
- If yes, what partnership program are you working with? optional
- Are you local to or willing to relocate? optional
- What office(s) would you be willing to relocate to? (Select all that apply) optional
Written answers (9)
- If yes, what type of sponsorship? optional
- If you selected "A protected Individual" OR "Other" to the above question, please explain further. optional
- (Optional) If you selected other or would like to expand on the above, feel free to do so below: optional
- If "Industry Conference" or "Other," please provide more details: optional
- If other, please provide further details optional
- When are you available to start your fellowship? optional
- When are you available for full time work? optional
- What full time job(s) are you applying for?
- If you selected international, what location(s)? optional