Software Engineering Manager (Defense/PhysicalAI)

Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services 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 the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo. Learn more at applied.co http://applied.co.

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that full-time employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments. This in-office expectation does not apply to contractor positions

ABOUT THE ROLE

Physical AI is moving from demos to fielded capability, and defense is where the stakes are highest. As Engineering Manager, you'll lead a team of 10-12 software engineers who each own high-stakes deployments across air, ground, and maritime platforms. Your job is to make that team scale: hiring and developing exceptional engineers, setting technical direction across programs, and building the repeatable delivery practices that bring Applied Intuition's capabilities to more platforms and more customers without trading quality for speed.

This is a high-visibility player-coach role. You'll be on of the key engineering leaders within Applied Intuition for defense and government customers, own delivery outcomes across a portfolio of concurrent programs, and serve as the escalation point when requirements shift or technical trade offs get hard. You'll make and defend the call on scope, timeline, and staffing, and you'll partner with Defense leadership, product, and engineering to do it. You'll stay close to the technology: reviewing architectures, pressure-testing integration approaches, and diving in when a program needs it.

Fielding intelligent machines is a systems problem that spans software, hardware, and operations, and your team sits at the center of it. We're looking for a leader who pairs deep technical credibility with a bias for action, who has shipped production systems and built teams, and who wants to shape our defense engineering presence in our Washington, D.C. office.

AT APPLIED INTUITION, YOU WILL:

• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of 10-12 software engineers: set a high hiring bar, run performance and promotion cycles, and develop the next generation of technical leaders
• Own technical direction and delivery across a portfolio of concurrent defense programs, balancing scope, speed, and people to protect commitments to customers
• Partner with Defense leadership, product, and business teams to scope and commit to customer programs, and push back with clear tradeoffs when needed
• Represent Applied Intuition with defense and government customers, from defense contractors to operational units, including technical reviews, demonstrations, and field exercises
• Stay hands-on with the technology: review system architectures, pressure-test integration approaches, and step in on hard technical problems
• Guide your team through a broad range of technical challenges, including software engineering, operating system configuration, system deployment, and hardware integration
• Bridge customer-built systems and Applied's solutions to deliver tangible value - Develop architectural solutions and repeatable delivery practices 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

WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS:

• 8-12 years of industry experience with at least 2 years, recent technical leadership exposure.
• Production grade SW experience. Has deployed SW or HW systems to active customers (not R&D, one-off projects)
• Exceptional customer-facing skills and focus on solving customer problems
• A proven mentor and leader of engineering talent
• Strong engineering background, preferred in fields such as Computer Engineering, Computer Science, 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 a proven ability to thrive and innovate independently within highly ambiguous and rapidly evolving operational environments
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Robotics, Aerospace, or a related field

Security Requirements:

• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Must hold or be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

For more information about U.S. security clearances: click here https://www.state.gov/securityclearances.

NICE TO HAVE:

• Hands-on engineering experience at a leading autonomy, robotics, big-tech, or defense-technology company, or at a national lab or defense prime
• Experience with uncrewed systems (air, ground, or maritime) or multi-agent autonomy
• Experience building or running simulation, SIL/HIL, or field and flight test pipelines
• Prior work with DoD or other government customers
• An active Secret or Top Secret clearance

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: $250,000 - $300,000 USD annually.

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.