Job Description:
The Ukraine Training Manager is responsible for the leadership, management, and execution of Shield AI's V-BAT customer training program supporting Ukraine. This position oversees all aspects of training operations, ensuring instruction is delivered safely, effectively, and in accordance with approved Programs of Instruction (POIs) while meeting contractual requirements and customer expectations.
The Ukraine Training Manager serves as the primary operational liaison for all Ukraine training activities, providing oversight of instructor staffing, personnel readiness, aircraft availability, student progression, and day-to-day course execution. Working closely with the Ukraine Senior Manager, Fleet Support, Curriculum Development, Engineering, Security, Program Management, and the customer, this individual identifies operational risks, develops personnel courses of action, and ensures training teams have the resources required to accomplish the mission.
This role is responsible for developing and standardizing the Ukraine instructor cadre while continuously improving course delivery, student outcomes, and operational effectiveness.
Location & Deployment: This role is based in Dallas, TX and will initially support an extended deployment to Ukraine. Once the deployment is complete, the role will be based in Dallas, and relocation will be required for anyone not already local to the area.
What you'll do:
- Lead and supervise the daily execution of training and sustainment operations in coordination with the Managing Director and field teams.
- Serve as a critical interface with Ukrainian and NATO customer counterparts, facilitating planning, mission execution, and issue resolution.
- Manage deployment cycles and theater movement of company personnel, ensuring all operational and logistical requirements are met.
- Oversee intelligence and operations fusion, ensuring timely collection, analysis, and dissemination to support mission planning and situational awareness.
- Ensure implementation of force protection measures, export compliance, and operational risk mitigation procedures.
- Support and supervise the integration of new technologies into operational environments.
- Facilitate coordination across training, logistics, and sustainment lines of effort to enable successful outcomes.
Required qualifications:
- Minimum 5 years of operational leadership experience in military, defense contracting, or international field operations.
- Demonstrated experience leading or mentoring operational teams in dynamic or austere environments.
- Proven ability to coordinate across diverse stakeholders in support of mission-critical activities.
- Strong organizational, reporting, and communication skills.
- Familiarity with force protection, export compliance, and logistics operations in deployed environments.
- Technical acumen to manage field-level integration of new technologies.
Preferred qualifications:
- Previous operational or advisory experience in Ukraine.
- Leadership experience in a combat zone or forward-deployed theater.
- Experience working with NATO or partner nation forces in an official capacity.
- Fluency or working knowledge of Ukrainian or Russian language.