Engineering Manager - Axion

Applied Intuition is building the toolchain for autonomy across air, land, sea, space and spectrum. The Axion product family is a modular, all-domain autonomy toolchain: simulation (Axion Sim), hardware/software integration (Axion Integrate), MLOps for ATR models (Axion MLOps), mission control UIs (Axion Mission Control), etc. 

The Axion team is mission-critical: enabling development, test, integration and deployment of collaborative autonomous systems in contested environments. You’ll be working at the intersection of high-fidelity simulation, autonomy software, hardware platforms, and human-machine interfaces.

As an Engineering Manager on the Axion team, you will lead a cross-functional engineering group (software, simulation, integration, UI/UX) to deliver high-impact autonomy toolchain capabilities. You will drive engineering execution, mentor and grow a team of engineers, define technical roadmaps, hold the bar on quality, and collaborate closely with product, operations, hardware/integration teams, and defense customers.

Your work will influence the architecture, scalability, performance, and field-readiness of Axion products.

• Lead, coach, and grow a team of engineers (individual contributors, leads) working on one or more Axion modules (e.g., simulation engine, mission-control UI, hardware integration pipeline)

• Define and own the technical roadmap for your area: translate product vision into deliverables, ensure alignment with overall Axion strategy

• Drive software engineering best practices: architecture design, code reviews, CI/CD, test automation, performance/scalability, quality metrics

• Manage project execution: planning sprints/releases, monitoring progress, identifying risks/blockers, ensuring delivery of milestones on time and to quality

• Work with product management and UX/design to refine requirements, make trade-offs, and ensure that the engineering roadmap maps to user/customer value and field readiness

• Collaborate with hardware/integration and operations teams to ensure seamless delivery of autonomy toolchain across simulation, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), live platforms

• Ensure the team is set up for high-impact: recruiting top talent, setting clear goals, fostering a culture of ownership, iteration, and innovation

• Communicate status, risk, and outcomes to senior leadership; escalate as needed; provide engineering input for business decisions

• Stay abreast of emerging technologies: simulation, autonomy, AI, real-time systems, human-machine interfaces, and help the team apply them

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (advanced degree preferred)

• Proven experience (e.g., 3 – 5+ years) in software engineering roles with increasing responsibility, and at least 1 – 2 years in a leadership role (team lead, manager) delivering complex systems

• Strong technical background: architecture, design, implementation and delivery of large-scale, high-performance software systems (ideally simulation, real-time, autonomy, robotics, or hardware integration)

• Experience managing full software development lifecycle: requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment, maintenance

• Experience in mentoring and growing engineering teams: recruiting, performance management, career development, building high-performing teams

• Excellent collaboration and communication skills: able to work cross-functionally with product, UX/design, hardware/integration, operations, senior leadership

• Comfort in a fast-paced, highly-ambiguous environment; ability to make thoughtful trade-offs between speed, quality, and scalability

• US citizenship. You must already have or be eligible to receive an active US Top Secret security clearance upon onboarding to this role

• Experience in autonomy, robotics, simulation or unmanned systems (air/land/sea) and tool-chain development

• Familiarity with multi-domain systems (e.g., air/land/sea/spectrum) and heterogeneous fleets/platforms

• Familiarity with real-time systems, sensor fusion, hardware/software integration, HIL/SIL testing, cloud infrastructure, large datasets

• Demonstrated ability to lead architecture/design of modular, scalable software systems with high performance constraints

Compensation at Applied Intuition for eligible roles includes base salary, equity, and benefits. Base salary is a single component of the total compensation package, which may also include equity in the form of options and/or restricted stock units, comprehensive health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage, 401k retirement benefits with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off. Note that benefits are subject to change and may vary based on jurisdiction of employment.

Applied Intuition pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum intended target base salary for new hire salaries for the position. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, interview performance, and the level and scope of the position.

Please reference the job posting’s subtitle for where this position will be located. For pay transparency purposes, the base salary range for this full-time position in the location listed is: $204,000 - $343,000 USD annually.