FAA Program Coordinator (R6337)

Shield AI•Dallas, TX

21h•$90,000 - $130,000

About The Position

Shield AI is seeking an FAA Regulatory Operations & Program Coordinator to establish and manage administrative processes supporting FAA authorizations across the company. This full-time individual contributor will provide enterprise visibility into aircraft registrations, authorizations, applications, operating limitations, renewals, and future regulatory needs while coordinating work across V-BAT, Hivemind, X-BAT, and supporting teams. The role works closely with Airworthiness, Safety, Flight Operations, Engineering, Legal, Government Relations, and program teams to organize submission schedules, maintain regulatory records, and move actions to closure. It focuses on regulatory operations and program coordination; designated subject matter experts retain responsibility for technical analyses, compliance determinations, and approval of technical content. The position calls for someone who can create structure across multiple programs, handle regulated records accurately, and communicate effectively with internal teams, test sites, and government stakeholders.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in aviation management, business, public administration, regulatory affairs, project or program management, engineering, or a related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
3–5+ years of experience in aviation regulatory operations, project or program coordination, flight operations administration, airworthiness or certification program support, UAS operations, or a related regulated environment.
Demonstrated experience coordinating regulatory applications, authorizations, certifications, or comparable controlled-submission processes.
Experience managing multiple concurrent workstreams using integrated schedules, action and decision logs, dependency tracking, controlled records, and concise status reporting.
Working knowledge of FAA aviation or UAS authorization processes and judgment to distinguish administrative coordination from technical and regulatory decision authority.
Strong professional and technical writing skills, with the ability to organize complex subject matter expert inputs into accurate, review-ready packages.
Strong cross-functional communication, organization, attention to detail, and follow-through.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Teams, SharePoint, and project-tracking or document-management tools.

Nice To Haves

Direct experience with FAA DroneZone, FAA aircraft registration, COAs or airspace authorizations, Part 107 waivers, or experimental certification support.
Experience supporting UAS, autonomous aircraft, defense aviation, or developmental flight-test programs.
Previous administrative or programmatic interaction with the FAA, UAS test sites, Department of Defense organizations, or other aviation authorities.
Familiarity with Section 927, 44807 and SAC-EC waivers, BVLOS, higher-altitude, one-to-many, or large-UAS approval pathways.
FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, CAPM or PMP certification, or comparable regulatory or project-management training.
Experience building scalable workflows, dashboards, and automated tracking for a growing organization in a regulated environment.

Responsibilities

Establish and manage an enterprise FAA regulatory operations process covering FAA DroneZone, aircraft registrations and N-numbers, COA and airspace authorization activities, waiver submissions, and other applicable FAA systems.
Maintain an authoritative tracker for active authorizations, pending applications, operating limitations, account ownership, expiration and renewal dates, dependencies, decisions, and anticipated needs.
Coordinate intake, prioritization, scheduling, development, review, submission, and follow-up of FAA-related packages across V-BAT, Hivemind, X-BAT, and supporting organizations; collect subject matter expert inputs and confirm completeness, version control, and approval status before authorized submission.
Manage procedural correspondence, submission status, records, and administrative coordination with the FAA, UAS test sites, and other authorization stakeholders; route technical questions to appropriate experts.
Lead recurring cross-program regulatory status and planning reviews, document decisions and actions, and escalate schedule risks, unresolved dependencies, and approaching expirations.
Support current and emerging authorization pathways, including Section 927 waivers, experimental certification, BVLOS, higher-altitude, and one-to-many operations, under the direction of responsible technical and regulatory leads.
Develop standardized submission workflows, templates, checklists, records controls, and role definitions; identify opportunities to automate routine tracking, reminders, and reporting while preserving program-specific account and submission responsibilities.
Develop dashboards and concise status reports covering application volume, cycle time, aging actions, renewals, approval risks, and regulatory dependencies.
Maintain a forward-looking FAA authorization roadmap aligned with planned tests, demonstrations, customer activities, new aircraft, missions, operating environments, and airspace needs; monitor relevant FAA process and system changes and coordinate impact reviews with designated experts.
Perform other duties as assigned.