Engineering Manager - Defense Systems

Applied Intuition is powering the future of physical AI, bringing intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Founded in 2017 and valued at $15 billion, the company creates digital infrastructure for the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining, and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust Applied Intuition’s solutions.

This is an in-office role based in Sunnyvale, California, with the expectation that full-time employees primarily work from the office 5 days a week. Flexibility is recognized, allowing occasional remote work or adjusted schedules to accommodate personal commitments.

About the role

As the Engineering Manager of the Forward Deployed Engineering team, you will lead a group of 8-12 engineers who operate like startup CTOs, owning end-to-end execution of high-stakes projects in defense and government environments. Your role is to scale this team by hiring and developing exceptional engineers, setting technical direction, and building repeatable delivery practices to deploy physical AI across more platforms and customers without sacrificing quality or speed.

This is a high-visibility, player-coach role in a customer-facing, mission-critical environment. You will represent Applied Intuition with authority in front of defense and government customers, own delivery outcomes across a portfolio of programs, and serve as the escalation point for technical tradeoffs or ambiguous requirements. You will stay close to the technology, reviewing architectures and diving into projects when needed.

Responsibilities

• Work directly with defense and government customers to deploy, integrate, and operationalize Applied Intuition’s vehicle intelligence products in military and government environments, from defense contractors to forward operating bases.
• Tackle technical challenges spanning software engineering, operating system configuration, system deployment, and hardware integration.
• Bridge customer-built systems and Applied’s solutions to deliver tangible value.
• Design and implement scalable, consistent approaches for customer engagement and project execution.
• Develop architectural solutions that improve consistency and scalability across projects.
• Collaborate with internal engineering, product, and customer teams to ensure successful outcomes.
• Take ownership of technical outcomes and drive projects to completion, adapting to changing requirements and priorities.

Requirements

• Production-grade software experience, with a track record of deploying software or hardware systems to active customers (not R&D or one-off projects).
• Exceptional customer-facing skills and a focus on solving customer problems.
• Proven experience mentoring and leading engineering talent.
• Strong engineering background, preferably in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or Electrical Engineering.
• Broad technical experience across software engineering, operating systems, and some hardware.
• Experience supporting integration and deployment of complex systems.
• Exceptional problem-solving skills and the ability to thrive in ambiguous, rapidly evolving operational environments.
• Must be a U.S. citizen and eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance coverage.
• 401k retirement benefits with employer match.
• Learning and wellness stipends.
• Paid time off.
• Equity in the form of options and/or restricted stock units.

Pay

The base salary range for this full-time position in Sunnyvale, California is $250,000 - $300,000 USD annually. The actual base salary offered will be influenced by factors such as experience, credentials, skill level, and interview performance.