Shannon is completing his doctorate in Politics and International Relations at the National Security College, ANU. His dissertation is titled ‘Security Institutions, Use of Force and the State: A Moral Framework. Shannon Brandt Ford is also a Lecturer in Intelligence and Security Studies with the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security, Charles Sturt University (CSU) and a Foundation Director for the Asia Pacific Chapter of the International Society for Military Ethics. Before starting his academic career, Shannon spent ten years as a Defence Strategist and Intelligence Analyst (1999-2009). This included working in the Strategic Policy Division, the Defence Intelligence Organisation, and the Information Strategy and Futures Branch.

Shannon was previously a Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, CSU, where he was Chief Investigator for a research project on the ethics of cybersecurity (2013-2014). Before that, he worked as a Research Fellow on an Australian Research Council-funded project: ‘Police Leadership in the 21st Century’ (2010-2011).