Owns audience growth strategy across social channels and digital communities. Analyzes audience behavior, segments personas, manages paid-growth budgets, tracks engagement and conversion metrics, identifies acquisition opportunities, builds dashboards, supports marketing tests, and translates performance insights into recommendations for communications and marketing stakeholders.
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.
Shield AI is seeking a marketing manager to build and execute the audience growth strategy across first-party social channels and third-party digital communities. This individual contributor role will develop growth models, identify scalable acquisition opportunities, manage paid-growth levers and budget, and partner with our communications, social, field marketing, and internal video teams to expand reach, engagement, and influence among key audiences.
What you'll do:
- Own audience growth analysis across Shield AI’s first-party social channels, including LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.
- Analyze third-party audience and community behavior across platforms such as Reddit, YouTube, and relevant industry forums.
- Build audience segmentation frameworks to better understand priority personas, content interests, channel behaviors, and acquisition opportunities.
- Partner with Social and Communications teams to inform organic content strategy with performance insights and audience intelligence.
- Manage paid-growth levers and budget to accelerate audience acquisition, engagement, and channel-level performance.
- Track and report on audience growth, engagement, conversion, and retention metrics across channels.
- Identify high-potential communities, creators, conversations, and distribution opportunities relevant to Shield AI’s mission and products.
- Develop dashboards, reports, and recommendations that translate data into clear growth actions for Marketing and Communications stakeholders.
- Support testing across creative, copy, targeting, channels, and content formats to improve reach and engagement.
- Monitor platform trends, algorithm changes, and audience behavior shifts to inform channel strategy.
Audience Growth & Analytics
Required qualifications:
- 3+ years of experience in growth marketing, digital marketing analytics, audience development, social analytics, or a related field.
- Experience analyzing performance across social platforms such as LinkedIn, X, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, or similar communities.
- Familiarity with AI-enabled analytics, content optimization, or marketing workflow tools.
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to translate data into actionable recommendations.
- Experience managing or supporting paid social, paid audience growth, or digital acquisition campaigns.
- Proficiency with analytics, reporting, and dashboarding tools.
- Strong understanding of audience segmentation, channel performance, testing, and growth metrics.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to present insights clearly to cross-functional stakeholders.
- Strong cross-functional collaborator with the ability to partner effectively with Social, Communications, Creative, and Marketing teams.
Preferred qualifications:
- Experience in aerospace, defense, national security, advanced technology, or B2B technology.
- Experience with social listening, community intelligence, or creator/influencer analysis tools.
- Experience building executive-ready dashboards or recurring performance reporting systems.
#LI-AD7
#LD
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.
###
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.
Similar Jobs at Shield AI
Aerospace • Artificial Intelligence • Machine Learning • Robotics • Software • Defense Technology
Leads technical program execution for autonomous aircraft conceptual design and tradespace analysis. Sets objectives from customer use cases, develops cost-performance metrics, manages schedules and budgets, and delivers strategic customer products. Aligns cross-functional stakeholders, translates technical and customer needs into product narratives, conducts market and technology discovery, and makes informed system design and mission utility decisions in defense and aerospace contexts.
Top Skills:
Autonomous AircraftAviation Autonomy SoftwareSimulation And Synthetic Reality Technologies
Aerospace • Artificial Intelligence • Machine Learning • Robotics • Software • Defense Technology
Lead design and integration of secure, low-latency communication systems for autonomous aircraft, including RF, SATCOM, SDR, and tactical data links. Define system requirements, optimize encrypted data links, enable connectivity between airborne, ground, and satellite systems, develop AI-driven sensor fusion, validate performance via simulation and flight testing, and ensure DoD compliance and mission readiness.
Top Skills:
AIArinc 429CdlClassified Communication ProtocolsElectronic Warfare (Ew)EncryptionLink-16Mil-Std-1553Rf SystemsSatcomSensor FusionSoftware-Defined Radio (Sdr)
Aerospace • Artificial Intelligence • Machine Learning • Robotics • Software • Defense Technology
Leads enterprise strategy and operational execution across aerospace, defense, AI, hardware, software, and international growth. Responsibilities include strategic planning, portfolio tradeoff analysis, market sizing, competitive analysis, financial modeling, capital allocation, business case development, KPI tracking, performance reviews, root-cause analysis, and cross-functional execution. The role requires influencing senior stakeholders and translating strategic priorities into measurable outcomes.
What you need to know about the Chicago Tech Scene
With vibrant neighborhoods, great food and more affordable housing than either coast, Chicago might be the most liveable major tech hub. It is the birthplace of modern commodities and futures trading, a national hub for logistics and commerce, and home to the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association. This diverse blend of industry influences has helped Chicago emerge as a major player in verticals like fintech, biotechnology, legal tech, e-commerce and logistics technology. It’s also a major hiring center for tech companies on both coasts.
Key Facts About Chicago Tech
- Number of Tech Workers: 245,800; 5.2% of overall workforce (2024 CompTIA survey)
- Major Tech Employers: McDonald’s, John Deere, Boeing, Morningstar
- Key Industries: Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, fintech, software, logistics technology
- Funding Landscape: $2.5 billion in venture capital funding in 2024 (Pitchbook)
- Notable Investors: Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Arch Venture Partners, MATH Venture Partners, Jump Capital, Hyde Park Venture Partners
- Research Centers and Universities: Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
