Compensation Director, Aircraft Engineering and Manufacturing (R6270)
Shield AI · Seattle, WA
- Level
- Director+
- Team
- Manufacturing
- Degree
- Required
- Experience asked
- 15+ years
- Industry
- Aerospace & defense
- Posted
- Yesterday
The role in 30 seconds
A director-level manufacturing role at Shield AI (aerospace & defense) in Seattle, WA. Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement experience.
- They ask for
- 15+ years · degree required
- Tools it names
- Lean, Six Sigma, SAP
Read from the posting. The full description is below.
From the plant jobs report · week of October 19, 2026
Manufacturing Engineer roles in Washington: typical posted base $103k–$145k.
Median of the low and high ends of 23 live postings that list pay, out of 39 manufacturing engineer openings in Washington, read from manufacturers' own careers sites.
Washington plant jobs report →Pay by team and state →What moves pay →
How this role compares
Against 38 other live manufacturing postings in Washington.
- Base pay
- Not listed in this posting
- Experience asked
- More than usual (15+ vs 3+)
Typical $100k–$135k, from 20 postings that list pay.
Similar roles usually ask 3+ years.
Skills these teams ask for most
- Tooling 62%
- Root cause 49%
- Automation 38%
- ✓ Lean 31%
- New product launch 31%
- Validation (IQ/OQ/PQ) 23%
✓ = this posting asks for it too. % = share of similar postings that mention it.
Stands out: this posting asks for SAP, Union environment, which few similar roles mention. If you have it, lead with it.
At a glance
Pulled from the posting text. If it's not listed here, the posting didn't say.
How to get in at this plant
Five moves over a week or two. The first one takes ten minutes.
- 1
Pick 2–3 people on the Manufacturing team at Shield AI
We found 1 person at this company and state: 1 in this kind of role. Engineers who joined in the last year or two reply the most. See them ↓
- 2
Send a short, curious note
One real question about their work. No favors yet. Each person gets a different note, written for this role.
Write to Bryan → (free) - 3
Turn a reply into a short call
Questions worth asking about this team:
- What does a normal week look like on your team?
- Is the work mostly new product launches or sustaining existing lines?
- How much time do you spend on the floor versus at a desk?
- How did you land the job? What stood out in your interviews?
- 4
Apply with someone vouching for you
If the call went well, ask whether they’d pass your résumé to the hiring manager. Send your résumé link, apply that day, and let them know.
- 5
Bring proof to the interview
One page of before-and-after numbers from projects you led: scrap, OEE, cycle time, cost. Plant managers hire on results.
This plant: Shield AI in Seattle
16 other open roles at this site · 1 person we found in manufacturing roles at Shield AI.
- Director, Avionics Mechanical Engineering · Reliability · Director+
- Head of Aircraft Production (R6147) · Production · Director+
- Head of Aircraft Quality (R6146) · Quality · Director+
- Staff Electrical Specialist - Hardware Test (R6122) · Reliability · Senior
- Engineer I, Quality (R5976) · Quality
- Senior Engineer, Reliability (R5950) · Reliability · Senior
Full description from Shield AIAs posted on their careers site.ShowHide
Required qualifications
- ✓Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Finance, Business, Economics, or a related field.
- ✓15+ years of progressive compensation experience, including significant leadership supporting manufacturing, production, operations, or supply chain organizations.
- ✓Deep expertise designing enterprise compensation strategies for large non-exempt employee populations.
- ✓Extensive knowledge of wage and hour regulations, compensation governance, and manufacturing compensation practices.
- ✓Demonstrated experience designing wage structures, progression frameworks, geographic differentials, and premium pay programs.
- ✓Advanced analytical, financial modeling, and executive presentation skills.
- ✓Proven ability to influence senior executives and drive enterprise-wide compensation decisions.
- ✓Experience leading large, cross-functional compensation initiatives with significant organizational impact.
Preferred qualifications
- ✓Certified Compensation Professional (CCP).
- ✓Experience supporting both union and non-union manufacturing environments.
- ✓Experience within global manufacturing or advanced technology organizations.
- ✓Expertise utilizing Radford, Mercer, WTW, and specialized manufacturing compensation surveys.
- ✓Experience with Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, or enterprise compensation planning systems.
- ✓Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement experience.
- ✓Experience leading or mentoring compensation professionals.
Show full description ↓Show less ↑
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. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Executive Partnership & Business Consulting
- •Serve as the trusted compensation advisor to Aircraft executives and business leaders.
- •Consult on organization design, workforce investments, location strategy, and talent acquisition decisions with significant financial and organizational impact in partnership with the Px Business Partner.
- •Provide strategic guidance on compensation implications of organizational changes, acquisitions, new facilities, and business expansion.
- •Present compensation recommendations and analyses to executive leadership with clear business rationale and risk assessments.
Governance, Compliance & Program Excellence
- •Establish governance frameworks, policies, and administration standards for manufacturing compensation programs.
- •Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local wage and hour regulations while mitigating organizational risk.
- •Partner with Legal, Finance, and People Operations on complex compensation matters and regulatory changes.
- •Lead continuous improvement initiatives to simplify compensation processes, improve scalability, and enhance operational efficiency.
Leadership
- •Champion best practices in compensation design, analytics, governance, and operational excellence.
- •Build organizational capability through knowledge sharing, coaching, and development of compensation expertise across the People function.