Senior Program Manager - Talent Acquisition Programs

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.

We are seeking an experienced Senior PX Program Manager to lead the delivery, optimization, adoption, and continuous improvement of strategic Talent Acquisition (TA) programs and priority People Experience (PX) initiatives. This role combines program management, recruiting operations, process optimization, and change management to strengthen how the organization attracts, assesses, selects, and hires talent.

In close partnership with Talent Acquisition leaders, recruiters, recruiting coordinators, hiring teams, PX Systems, and cross-functional stakeholders, this individual will translate recruiting strategy into scalable programs, operating models, and implementation plans. They will lead complex initiatives, improve end-to-end hiring processes, clarify roles and decision rights, establish governance, and use data to drive efficiency, quality, adoption, and an exceptional candidate and hiring-manager experience.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in program and project management, process improvement, change management, and stakeholder engagement, along with experience supporting Talent Acquisition or other high-volume People functions. This is a full-time role responsible for advancing critical TA and PX priorities, strengthening operating rigor, and developing efficient, repeatable approaches that support organizational growth.

\n Key Responsibilities

Senior Program Manager - Talent Acquisition Programs

We are seeking an experienced Senior PX Program Manager to lead the delivery, optimization, adoption, and continuous improvement of strategic Talent Acquisition (TA) programs and priority People Experience (PX) initiatives. This role combines program management, recruiting operations, process optimization, and change management to strengthen how the organization attracts, assesses, selects, and hires talent.

In close partnership with Talent Acquisition leaders, recruiters, recruiting coordinators, hiring teams, PX Systems, and cross-functional stakeholders, this individual will translate recruiting strategy into scalable programs, operating models, and implementation plans. They will lead complex initiatives, improve end-to-end hiring processes, clarify roles and decision rights, establish governance, and use data to drive efficiency, quality, adoption, and an exceptional candidate and hiring-manager experience.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in program and project management, process improvement, change management, and stakeholder engagement, along with experience supporting Talent Acquisition or other high-volume People functions. This is a full-time role responsible for advancing critical TA and PX priorities, strengthening operating rigor, and developing efficient, repeatable approaches that support organizational growth.

Key Responsibilities

Talent Acquisition Program Delivery

• Lead the planning, coordination, execution, and launch of complex TA programs and cross-functional PX initiatives, such as recruiting process optimization, interviewer enablement, hiring capacity planning, candidate experience, recruiting technology implementations, and talent-program rollouts.
• Partner with TA and PX leaders to define program scope, objectives, milestones, timelines, risks, dependencies, resources, and success measures.
• Translate strategic hiring priorities into actionable roadmaps, workstreams, implementation plans, and sustainable operating models.
• Maintain integrated program plans and operating rhythms; monitor progress and proactively manage risks, issues, dependencies, and decisions.
• Drive alignment and accountability across recruiters, coordinators, sourcers, hiring managers, interviewers, systems teams, and other partners to achieve milestones and intended outcomes.
• Ensure programs transition effectively from implementation to sustainable business-as-usual operations with clear ownership, documentation, and performance measures.

Recruiting Process Optimization and Operational Excellence

• Lead end-to-end assessment and optimization of priority TA processes, including workforce demand intake, requisition launch, sourcing, screening, interviewing, selection, offer management, preboarding, and recruiting operations.
• Map current-state processes and design future-state workflows that improve speed, quality, consistency, compliance, candidate experience, hiring-manager experience, and operational effectiveness.
• Identify process gaps, bottlenecks, redundancies, manual work, inconsistent practices, and unclear ownership; determine root causes and develop practical, scalable solutions.
• Partner with TA leaders and subject-matter experts to clarify roles, decision rights, handoffs, service expectations, escalation paths, and operating mechanisms.
• Develop and implement standardized playbooks, SOPs, templates, toolkits, and governance practices that enable consistent execution across recruiting teams and hiring stakeholders.
• Partner with PX Systems and other stakeholders to improve ATS workflows, reporting, integrations, automation, and the effective use of recruiting technology.
• Embed continuous improvement practices into TA programs and processes using operational data, stakeholder feedback, candidate insights, and lessons learned.

Change Management and Adoption

• Develop and execute change management strategies that support successful adoption and long-term sustainability of new TA programs, systems, tools, and processes.
• Assess stakeholder impacts and organizational readiness, then create communication, engagement, training, enablement, and reinforcement plans.
• Partner with TA leaders, recruiters, hiring managers, interviewers, and subject-matter experts to facilitate change and minimize disruption.
• Track adoption, stakeholder readiness, and effectiveness; use findings to adjust implementation plans and improve future initiatives.
• Ensure redesigned processes are supported by clear documentation, training materials, communications, ownership, and reinforcement mechanisms.

Stakeholder Leadership and Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Build trusted relationships across Talent Acquisition, PX, Finance, Legal, IT, business leadership, and hiring teams.
• Facilitate stakeholder alignment, decision-making, process design, and issue resolution across multiple workstreams.
• Lead working sessions to identify root causes, evaluate options and tradeoffs, and align stakeholders on practical solutions.
• Coordinate cross-functional efforts to ensure cohesive program delivery and integration with broader workforce and business priorities.
• Escalate risks, tradeoffs, and decisions appropriately and provide clear recommendations that enable timely resolution.
• Deliver concise, executive-ready communications on program status, recruiting process performance, risks, outcomes, and recommendations.

Governance, Analytics, and Operating Effectiveness

• Establish governance models, operating rhythms, and reporting mechanisms for assigned TA and PX programs and processes.
• Maintain key program artifacts, including project plans, process maps, action plans, decision logs, risk registers, and operating documentation.
• Use quantitative and qualitative data to identify opportunities, inform recommendations, measure outcomes, and support ongoing improvement.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, Industrial Engineering, Operations, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of experience leading complex programs, process improvements, transformations, or organizational change within Talent Acquisition, HR, People Operations, Operations, or a related environment.
• Demonstrated success managing cross-functional initiatives with multiple stakeholders and workstreams in a high-growth or similarly dynamic organization.
• Strong program and project management skills, including planning, governance, risk and dependency management, execution, and performance measurement.
• Experience supporting Talent Acquisition programs and a working understanding of the end-to-end recruiting lifecycle and the needs of candidates, recruiters, and hiring teams.
• Experience assessing and redesigning end-to-end processes, identifying root causes, clarifying roles and handoffs, and implementing scalable solutions, frameworks, playbooks, or SOPs.
• Hands-on change management experience, including stakeholder analysis, communications, training, enablement, adoption, and reinforcement.
• Ability to use recruiting, operational, survey, adoption, and other quantitative and qualitative data to guide decisions and measure impact.
• Excellent communication, facilitation, analytical, and stakeholder-management skills, with the ability to bring structure to ambiguity and influence outcomes without direct authority.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading high-impact TA initiatives, such as recruiting transformation, process redesign, interviewer enablement, candidate experience, workforce planning, recruiting analytics, or technology implementations.
• Experience supporting high-volume recruiting, recruiting operations, HR shared services, or other scaled People functions in technology, aerospace, defense, or another complex or rapidly growing environment.
• Experience implementing or optimizing ATS, HRIS, recruiting platforms, automation, integrations, process-mapping tools, or data-visualization solutions.
• Formal training or certification in program, change, or process improvement methodologies, such as PMP, Prosci, Lean, Six Sigma, or Agile.

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$170,000 - $245,000 a year

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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.

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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.