Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed deep-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include the V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, Hivemind Enterprise, and the Hivemind Vision product lines. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
We’re hiring a Principal Strategic Talent Acquisition Partner to help power our next phase of growth across EMEA. This is a high-impact, business-critical role at the heart of Shield’s AI international expansion—supporting new market entries, building and scaling best-in-class software and sales organisations, and partnering with senior leaders to shape our future.
This is not a transactional recruiting role. You will operate as a strategic advisor, market expert, and builder—owning how talent enables scale across diverse EMEA markets.
What You’ll Do
Strategic Talent Partnership
Partner closely with senior and executive-level stakeholders to understand business objectives, growth plans, and capability gaps.
Translate market entry and growth plan into scalable, data-driven regional talent acquisition strategies.
Act as a thought partner and advisor on talent trends, market intelligence, and competitive hiring strategies.
Advise leaders on market feasibility from a talent perspective (availability, cost, timing, and risk).
Execution with Excellence
Own the end-to-end recruitment lifecycle for all roles including senior, critical, and hard-to-hire roles.
Partner to design and execute sourcing strategies that attract high-impact engineering and commercial talent across the EMEA region
Shape local hiring approaches while maintaining a consistent global hiring bar.
Employer Branding & Talent Attraction
Act as an EMEA ambassador for our employer brand, ensuring we are positioned as an employer of choice in the region
Partner with Branding, Comms, and Leadership to shape and localise our employer value proposition for different EMEA countries.
Identify and activate employer branding opportunities (events, content, communities, referrals, social presence).
Ensure inclusive, consistent, and authentic candidate experience that reinforces our brand and values at every touchpoint.
Driving at Scale
Use data to forecast hiring needs, track progress, and continuously optimise our recruitment performance.
Improve TA processes, tools, and ways of partnering to support speed, quality, and scale.
Be a visible voice for talent across the EMEA leadership community.
What We’re Looking For
Proven experience as a strategic talent acquisition partner driving full cycle hiring for both engineering and go to market talent in high-growth tech environments (aerospace, defence, or robotics desirable).
Demonstrated success supporting new market entries and scaling teams at pace across the EMEA region
Strong credibility working with senior leaders and executives as a trusted talent advisor and business partner
Deep understanding of EMEA talent dynamics, sourcing strategies, and competitive intelligence.
Highly consultative, commercially minded, and comfortable operating with ambiguity.
Ability to balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution.
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.
