Technical Lead Software Engineer - Autonomy Mission Systems

Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and valued at $15 billion, the company creates the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition serves the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining, and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. The company’s solutions are trusted by eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies. Headquarters are in Sunnyvale, California, with additional offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo.

This is an in-office role based at an Applied Intuition office. Employees are expected to work from the office 5 days a week, with flexibility for occasional remote work or adjusted schedules to accommodate personal commitments.

About the role

Applied is seeking a mission-driven senior technical leader for the Autonomous Behaviors and Agents engineering team. In this role, you will lead the team tackling the most complex computational challenges in our real-time decision-making platform. Your work will shape the technical direction for advanced algorithms that push the boundaries of autonomous coordination and planning, focusing on next-generation human-machine teaming and real-time decision-making systems.

You will guide a team of engineers building intelligent agents that plan and execute missions using advanced reasoning, planning, and optimization algorithms. The role is hands-on where it matters most, spanning real-time scenarios, heterogeneous platforms (air, space, land, surface, sub-surface), and software that integrates seamlessly with human operators. Your leadership will directly impact the Axion and Acuity family of systems, enabling breakthrough capabilities in human-machine teaming across all domains.

Responsibilities

• Drive the technical vision, architecture, and roadmap for the Autonomous Behaviors and Agents team, and direct execution from concept through delivery
• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of engineers, driving design reviews, setting engineering standards, and raising the bar on code quality and algorithmic rigor
• Guide the design and implementation of multi-agent optimization algorithms for distributed decision-making and coordination problems
• Direct development of temporal logic frameworks and constraint-satisfaction algorithms for complex planning scenarios
• Partner with product, program, and customer-facing stakeholders to translate mission needs into technical priorities, scope, and delivery commitments
• Coordinate cross-team integration and de-risk dependencies across the Axion and Acuity system families

Requirements

• MS or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical field, OR 8+ years of professional experience developing intelligent agents or planning systems
• 8+ years of hands-on experience developing performant modern C++ (C++20), with 2+ years leading engineering teams or serving as a technical lead on complex software programs
• A track record of setting technical direction, driving architectural decisions, and delivering complex systems through a team, not just as an individual contributor
• Strong theoretical understanding and practical experience implementing algorithms for constraint satisfaction, scheduling, and optimization problems
• Deep procedural and object-oriented programming experience that employs clean code principles and good OOP design patterns, with the judgment to enforce them pragmatically across a codebase
• Experience developing in Docker and containerized development environments, and using Linux-based operating systems (e.g., RHEL, Ubuntu)
• Understanding of service-oriented architecture and message broker vs. data broker paradigms, and experience making system-level architectural tradeoffs
• Ability to translate complex mathematical concepts into clear technical documentation, and to communicate designs, tradeoffs, and status crisply to both engineers and non-technical stakeholders
• Experience mentoring engineers, running design and code reviews, and building healthy, high-performing team culture
• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Must be eligible for a U.S. SECRET clearance with Special Access Program (SAP) eligibility

Nice to have

• Prior work on defense, aerospace, or other safety-critical autonomy programs
• Experience representing engineering in customer or program reviews
• Experience with game theory for multi-agent coordination or negotiation protocols
• Familiarity with real-time optimization under hardware/edge constraints
• Background in Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) or defense applications

Travel Requirements

Occasional travel required (approx. 10–20%) for demonstrations, integration, or customer engagement.

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

Base salary range: $175,000 – $275,000. The actual base salary offered will be influenced by factors including experience, credentials, educational attainment, skill level requirements, interview performance, and the level and scope of the position.