Assistant Product Owner, CCA Mission Autonomy (Platform Integration) (R5849)

The Assistant Product Owner (APO) supports Shield AI's delivery of mission autonomy (MA) to the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. In this context, the 'product' is the Autonomy Implementation package, including Mission Autonomy itself, the Human Machine Interface (HMI) software, A-GRA compliance, mission systems, training, cybersecurity, and the full suite of implementation/installation software. The APO will support the Platform Integration and Support shoal (Shoal 1), which is responsible for integrating MA with multiple platforms and with the operator interface. The APO will work with the Shoal Lead, Systems Engineering Lead, and four Feature Crew Leads and report directly to the Product Owner/Manager. The APO owns the day-to-day health of the Shoal 1 product backlog in Jira (and Confluence).

Responsibilities

Work with the Product Owner and Chief Engineer to understand customer product needs and determine priority, separating must-have capability from deferrable scope; Elicit and validate needs and priorities from the customer, including official guidance and scoping documents, and from operational subject matter experts or surrogate end users; Translate customer intent into user stories and epic descriptions, including value proposition, success criteria, acceptance criteria, expected effort and timeline, dependencies, risks, and preconditions for success; Own day-to-day management of the Shoal 1 epic backlog across feature crews, including maintaining traceability with customer requirements, refining the backlog, and monitoring backlog updates; Provide a product perspective to feature crews at Shoal 1-specific sprint planning and review ceremonies by maintaining an informal integrated product map of epics, interfaces, dependencies, and program milestones; In collaboration with the Shoal Lead, manage dependencies across shoals and carry integration decisions through to the respective shoal or feature crew leads or collaboration partners; In collaboration with the Shoal Lead, support development and integration of the operator interface primarily through the backlog; Keep protected weekly hands-on time in the operator interface so HMI-specific epics and instructions can be written from first-hand use; Support the platform integration crew in their interaction with vendors; Act as translator across disciplines, normalizing terminology and making specialist discussion accessible to the whole team; Support other shoals (e.g., Systems Engineering, T&E) through observation of operator-in-the-loop (OITL) activity and feedback in review sessions

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering, computer science, aerospace engineering, cognitive systems engineering, human factors, or a related technical field, or equivalent military or operational experience; 3+ years in product ownership or a related field (e.g., customer experience, human factors, cognitive systems engineering, human-machine teaming, systems engineering, or technical program management for complex software or aerospace systems); Hands-on proficiency with Jira and Confluence as systems of record, including experience authoring and managing epics, user stories, and acceptance criteria in an agile environment; Demonstrated ability to hold an integrated view of a complex product across distributed documentation and multiple engineering disciplines; Willingness to become a hands-on user of the operator interface, independently installing, configuring, and running mission scenarios; Working technical fluency in mission autonomy, autonomous systems, flight software, ground control systems or HMIs, or avionics interfaces; Exceptional written and oral communication, and proven ability to translate information across technical audiences without diluting technical accuracy; Strong problem solving skills, including sound decision making and judgment under ambiguity with minimal supervision; Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team; Must be a U.S. person as defined under ITAR; Active U.S. DoD Secret security clearance required at time of hire, and must be eligible for and capable of obtaining and maintaining Top Secret, SCI, and/or SAP level clearance/access; Ability to travel domestically approximately 15–25%

Nice to have

Experience supporting a U.S. Air Force, Navy, or joint aviation program of record involving uncrewed or autonomous collaborative platforms; Familiarity with the A-GRA, A-GRI, UCI messaging, or other modular open systems architectures; Experience with airworthiness, functional safety, or assurance-driven software processes and certification artifacts; Exposure to flight autonomy, vehicle management systems, or aircraft-level integration and flight test campaigns; Experience with C2 or HMI products for uncrewed systems (e.g., STANAG 4586, MAVLink, CoT, TAK); Formal grounding in product, human factors, or cognitive systems engineering methods; Experience supporting OITL evaluations, test and evaluation campaigns, or functional check flight activity as a product or human factors representative; Proficiency with systems and process modeling tools (e.g., Cameo) and reading interface control documents (ICDs); Experience establishing decision logs, change control, or product governance in a program that previously lacked them; Experience coordinating directly with platform manufacturers, primes, or government program offices; Military aviation, flight test, or uncrewed aircraft systems operational experience; Advanced degree in engineering, business (e.g., MBA), or related field (e.g., computer science, aerospace, cognitive systems engineering, human factors); Current or prior Special Access Program (SAP) or Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access

Benefits

Bonus; Equity; Benefits (for full-time regular employees); Temporary benefits package applicable after 60 days of employment (for temporary employees)