Instructor & Customer Success Manager

Shield AI
Kyiv, Ukraine
On-site

Who this role is best for

Aimed at mid-to-senior-level UAS training professionals who can lead and adapt training programs in dynamic international environments.

Best fit for

  • Candidates with prior leadership in UAS training and experience in Ukrainian military or defense sectors
    — “Former Ukrainian military service or comparable defense-sector experience.”
  • Individuals with strong cross-cultural communication and training delivery expertise
    — “Experience managing training programs for international customers and working across cultural and language differences.”
  • Professionals with a background in curriculum development and operational coordination
    — “Lead the development and standardization of curricula, lesson plans, lecture materials, simulator scenarios, practical exercises, assessments, and supporting documentation.”

Things to consider

  • International travel is a significant commitment, potentially requiring extended deployments.
    — “Support domestic and international training events, including extended deployments when required.”
  • The role demands a balance between leadership and hands-on training responsibilities.
    — “Deliver instruction and provide hands-on training support when mission or staffing needs require it.”

How to stand out

  • Highlight experience in developing and delivering diverse training formats such as simulators and scenario-based instruction.
    — “Establish team priorities, performance expectations, staffing plans, and professional-development pathways.”
  • Emphasize fluency in Ukrainian and experience working with Ukrainian defense organizations.
    — “Strong understanding of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, allied defense organizations, and international partner-force environments.”
  • Showcase ability to standardize training materials and ensure compliance with aviation regulations.
    — “Ensure training activities comply with applicable company policies, safety requirements, security procedures, aviation regulations, and customer expectations.”
  • Position yourself as a problem-solver focused on safety and learning outcomes.
    — “Effective, highly logical problem-solver who remains focused on safety, learning outcomes, and customer success.”
Pace · Fast PacedCollaboration · HighAutonomy · MediumDecision Impact · Team

Derived from job-description analysis by Serendipath's career intelligence engine.

What success looks like

  • Developing and delivering training programs
  • Building and maintaining customer relationships
Typical background
Experience in training and customer success rolesBackground in UAV operations

Skills & requirements

Required

Training DevelopmentCustomer Success ManagementUAV Operations

Preferred

Sales SupportProduct Demonstration

About the role

Original posting from Shield AI via Lever

As the Instructor & Customer Success Manager, you will lead a team responsible for developing and delivering classroom, simulator, flight, maintenance, and scenario-based training for Shield AI products. You will ensure customers in Ukraine have the knowledge, skills, and confidence required to safely operate, maintain, and effectively employ our technology. 

You will be responsible for instructor development, training quality, operational readiness, curriculum standards, and customer satisfaction. This is a hands-on leadership position that requires close collaboration with customers, engineering, product, flight operations, business development, and other internal teams. The ideal candidate is an experienced training leader, an effective communicator, and a credible UAS professional who is comfortable operating in dynamic domestic and international environments. 

What you’ll do::

  • Lead, develop, and mentor a team of customer training professionals and UAV instructors.
  • Establish team priorities, performance expectations, staffing plans, and professional-development pathways.
  • Oversee the development and delivery of classroom, simulator, flight, maintenance, and scenario-based training for Shield AI products.
  • Ensure training programs prepare customers to safely operate, maintain, deploy, and effectively employ Shield AI systems.
  • Maintain high instructional standards through instructor qualification, observation, coaching, certification, and continuous evaluation.
  • Lead the development and standardization of curricula, lesson plans, lecture materials, simulator scenarios, practical exercises, assessments, and supporting documentation.
  • Ensure student training records, instructor qualifications, course materials, and program metrics remain current and accurate.
  • Coordinate training schedules, aircraft, simulators, facilities, airspace, frequency management, personnel, and other operational resources.
  • Communicate directly with customers and partner-force leadership regarding training requirements, student progress, operational readiness, and program outcomes.
  • Build lasting customer relationships through continuous engagement, refresher training, and support for effective product utilization.
  • Adapt training for students with varying technical abilities, operational backgrounds, cultural contexts, and levels of experience.
  • Support domestic and international training events, including extended deployments when required. 
  • Deliver instruction and provide hands-on training support when mission or staffing needs require it.
  • Partner with engineering, product, design, and flight-operations teams to incorporate customer and instructor feedback into product and training improvements.
  • Support new-product validation, testing, field evaluations, and the development of training capabilities for new product releases.
  • Collaborate with business-development and sales teams to demonstrate Shield AI products to prospective customers. 
  • Establish and monitor training-program metrics, identify performance gaps, and implement improvements that increase safety, consistency, scalability, and customer success.
  • Ensure training activities comply with applicable company policies, safety requirements, security procedures, aviation regulations, and customer expectations. 

Required qualifications::

  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
  • Five or more years of experience in technical, aviation, military, or UAS training.
  • Two or more years of experience leading instructors, training teams, or comparable operational teams.
  • Demonstrated experience developing and delivering classroom, simulator, flight, maintenance, or scenario-based instruction.
  • Working knowledge of UAS operations, flight and mission planning, aviation safety, and training operations.
  • Ability and willingness to travel internationally up to 50%, including for extended periods when required.
  • Strong written, verbal, presentation, and interpersonal communication skills.
  • Fluent in Ukrainian
  • Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical and operational information to audiences with varying levels of experience.
  • Experience managing multiple training events, resources, schedules, and customer requirements in a dynamic environment.
  • Effective, highly logical problem-solver who remains focused on safety, learning outcomes, and customer success.
  • Ability to work across organizational boundaries while maintaining a big-picture perspective and attention to operational details. 

Preferred qualifications::

  • Graduate degree in education, instructional design, aviation, engineering, business, or a related field.
  • Significant UAS experience as a pilot in command, instructor, maintainer, or mission operator.
  • More than 1,000 hours of UAS pilot-in-command experience.
  • Experience instructing or operating Group 1–3 UAS.
  • Former Ukrainian military service or comparable defense-sector experience.
  • Strong understanding of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, allied defense organizations, and international partner-force environments.
  • Tactical field experience and knowledge of small-unit tactics.
  • Prior overseas training or operational experience.
  • Experience managing training programs for international customers and working across cultural and language differences.
  • Experience with content-authoring and presentation tools such as PowerPoint, Prezi, http://Beautiful.ai , Camtasia, or comparable platforms. 
  • Experience with learning-management systems and online training-authoring or delivery tools.
  • Experience supporting product demonstrations, new-product testing, curriculum validation, or fielding of emerging technologies.

Source: Shield AI careers (Lever)

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