Shield AI

Staff Designer, Generalist

Shield AI · Washington, DC
Washington, DC $117K–$170K Posted 2026-09-24
Salary
$117K–$170K
Type
Full-time
Experience
6+ yr

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.

Job Description:
The Marketing team at Shield AI is hiring a Senior Designer to lead the development and execution of integrated brand campaigns. Working closely with the Director of Brand and Creative, you’ll translate campaign strategy and creative direction into distinctive visual concepts and cohesive systems that work across digital, social, events, presentations, advertising, and other brand touchpoints.
You’ll be a close creative partner throughout the campaign process—from early concept development and visual exploration through production and launch. You’ll help shape briefs, develop campaign ideas, establish the visual direction, and turn approved concepts into clear systems that other designers, agencies, and production partners can execute consistently.
You’ll own high-visibility design work while also providing direction, feedback, and hands-on support across the broader campaign. You’ll collaborate with writers, designers, video teams, marketers, and external partners to connect messaging and visuals, solve creative problems, and keep the work aligned as requirements evolve.
This is a senior individual contributor role for a designer with strong judgment, exceptional craft, and a bias toward action. You can move between concept and execution, present and defend your thinking, incorporate feedback without weakening the idea, and deliver polished work under demanding timelines. You’ll help raise the creative standard across Shield AI while ensuring every campaign feels clear, cohesive, and unmistakably on brand.

#LI-AD7
#LE

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.

  • 6+ years of professional design experience, with a portfolio demonstrating conceptually strong, integrated brand campaigns.
  • Expert command of visual design, including typography, composition, color, imagery, and art direction.
  • Demonstrated ability to translate campaign strategy and creative briefs into distinctive concepts and scalable visual systems.
  • Experience developing campaigns across digital, social, advertising, events, presentations, and other brand touchpoints.
  • Ability to move fluidly from early concept development through detailed design and final production.
  • Advanced proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite and Figma.
  • Experience directing and reviewing work produced by designers, agencies, and production partners.
  • Strong presentation skills, including the ability to clearly explain and defend creative decisions to senior stakeholders.
  • Experience collaborating closely with writers, marketers, video teams, and other creative disciplines.
  • Ability to manage multiple high-visibility projects, make sound decisions with incomplete information, and deliver exceptional work under tight deadlines.
  • Strong understanding of production requirements across digital and print formats.
  • Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to brand consistency.
  • Ability to operate as a senior individual contributor, taking ownership of work without requiring day-to-day direction.
  • Experience designing for aerospace, defense, advanced technology, or another complex technical industry.
  • Experience translating technical products and capabilities into clear, compelling campaign creative.
  • Background working in an in-house brand studio or creative agency on large, integrated campaigns.
  • Experience partnering closely with a creative director from initial concept through launch.
  • Art direction experience across photography, illustration, motion, video, and 3D.
  • Experience directing agencies, freelancers, photographers, and other production partners.
  • Familiarity with environmental graphics, event experiences, and large-format production.
  • Experience developing campaign systems that can be extended consistently by other designers and teams.
  • Working knowledge of motion design, video production, or 3D workflows.
  • Familiarity with legal, brand, data-handling, and export-control reviews for public-facing creative work.
$80K — 10th pctl $235K — 90th pctl
This role’s midpoint $143K vs. market median $155K for Design roles
~median
market rate
Based on 1,000+ Design roles with disclosed salary ranges tracked on NewJob.
Shield AI

Shield AI

Defense Tech · Private · San Diego, USA

Stage & Valuation
Private · $12.7B
Key Investors
Andreessen Horowitz, L3Harris, Advent International
Open roles on NewJob
Most hiring in
Engineering (174) · BizOps (23) · Operations (19)
Shield AI is a defense technology company that builds AI pilots and next-generation autonomous aircraft to protect service members and civilians. Their core product is Hivemind, an AI-powered autonomy developer platform for military systems.
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