FAA Program Coordinator (Regulatory Operations)

About the role

Shield AI, a defense-tech company, is looking for an FAA Regulatory Operations and Program Coordinator to set up and run the administrative processes behind FAA authorizations. This full-time individual contributor gives the company visibility into aircraft registrations, authorizations, applications, operating limitations, renewals and future regulatory needs, and coordinates work across V-BAT, Hivemind, X-BAT and supporting teams. Subject matter experts keep responsibility for technical analyses, compliance determinations and approval of technical content.

Key responsibilities

• Establish and manage an enterprise FAA regulatory process covering DroneZone, aircraft registrations and N-numbers, COA and airspace authorizations, waiver submissions and other FAA systems.
• Maintain a single authoritative tracker for active authorizations, pending applications, operating limitations, account ownership, expiration and renewal dates, dependencies, decisions and anticipated needs.
• Coordinate the intake, scheduling, development, review, submission and follow-up of FAA packages, collecting expert input and confirming completeness, version control and approval status before submission.
• Handle correspondence, submission status and records with the FAA, UAS test sites and other stakeholders, routing technical questions to the right experts.
• Run recurring cross-program regulatory reviews, document decisions and escalate schedule risks, unresolved dependencies and approaching expirations.
• Support authorization pathways such as Section 927 waivers, experimental certification, BVLOS, higher-altitude and one-to-many operations.
• Build standardized submission workflows, templates, checklists, records controls and role definitions, and develop dashboards and status reports on application volume, cycle time, aging actions, renewals and approval risks.
• Keep a forward-looking authorization roadmap aligned with planned tests, demonstrations, customers, new aircraft and missions, and track FAA process and system changes.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in aviation management, business, public administration, regulatory affairs, project or program management, engineering or a related field; equivalent experience may be considered.
• 3-5+ years in aviation regulatory operations, program coordination, flight operations administration, airworthiness or certification support, UAS operations or a similar regulated environment.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating regulatory applications, authorizations or certifications.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent workstreams with integrated schedules, action and decision logs, dependency tracking and controlled records.
• Working knowledge of FAA aviation or UAS authorization processes, with the judgment to separate administrative coordination from technical and regulatory decision authority.

Required skills

• Strong professional and technical writing, able to turn expert input into review-ready packages.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, Teams, SharePoint and project-tracking or document-management tools.
• Preferred: direct experience with FAA DroneZone, aircraft registration, COAs, Part 107 waivers or experimental certification; experience with UAS, autonomous or defense aviation programs; familiarity with Section 927, 44807 and SAC-EC waivers, BVLOS and higher-altitude approvals; FAA Part 107 certificate, CAPM or PMP.