Manager of Autonomy Applications Engineering

• Shield AI is seeking a Manager, Autonomy Applications Engineering to lead a team of Forward Deployed Engineers supporting customer deployment, adoption, and operational success with the Hivemind SDK
• This is a highly technical, customer-facing leadership role focused on enabling the team to deliver excellent on-site customer support, deployment execution, and success in real-world environments
• The manager will own team performance, customer outcomes, and the flow of actionable field feedback back into the company
• In this role, you will manage, coach, and develop Forward Deployed Engineers who work directly with customer operators, engineers, and technical stakeholders to support onboarding, deployment, troubleshooting, and sustained use of Hivemind
• You will help the team navigate complex technical environments, translate mission and program goals into concrete technical milestones, and drive progress during active engagements
• You will also partner closely with internal engineering, product, Applications Engineering, and program teams to improve customer readiness, product usability, deployment playbooks, and long-term customer success
• Lead, manage, mentor, and develop a team of Forward Deployed Engineers responsible for customer deployments and technical customer success
• Own team planning, prioritization, staffing, and execution for on-site and virtual customer engagements
• Provide technical leadership for customer onboarding, deployment, adoption, and operational success with the Hivemind SDK
• Serve as an escalation point and trusted technical leader for customers using Hivemind in real-world environments
• Translate customer goals, mission needs, and program objectives into clear technical milestones, execution plans, and team priorities
• Drive accountability across the team for achieving intended customer outcomes during active engagements
• Guide the team through debugging and resolution of complex software and integration issues
• Partner with customer teams and internal stakeholders to remove blockers, improve time-to-value, and sustain adoption
• Build mechanisms to collect, synthesize, and communicate recurring customer pain points, product gaps, and field insights to internal teams
• Represent the voice of the customer in internal planning and prioritization discussions
• Collaborate with product and engineering teams to improve product quality, usability, deployment readiness, and repeatable field execution

Benefits

• Excellent Medical Coverage
• Mental Health Employee Assistance Program
• Paid Parental Leave
• Pet Insurance
• Flexible Work Hours
• Onsite Gym (DC)
• Gym Discount (San Diego)
• Free Parking
• Competitive Compensation
• Stock Benefits
• 401K Services and Match- You enjoy working across engineering, product, and customer teams to improve both product outcomes and customer success
• 2+ years of people management or formal technical leadership experience for engineers
• You have strong engineering fundamentals and can build credibility quickly with technical stakeholders, customers, and direct reports
• 8+ years of relevant technical experience in software engineering, deployment engineering, solutions engineering, applications engineering, or forward deployed engineering
• You can translate ambiguous customer needs into structured technical plans, team priorities, and measurable outcomes
• You are energized by coaching engineers through dynamic on-site challenges in real operational contexts
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with sound judgment under pressure
• Experience in a customer-facing technical leadership role such as forward deployed engineering, solutions engineering, applications engineering, or customer engineering
• Strong proficiency with modern C++ and experience with Python in a professional setting
• Ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy and accountability in ambiguous environments while leading a team through ambiguity
• You are comfortable making decisions, removing blockers, and helping a team drive progress under pressure
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field
• Excellent communication, presentation, interpersonal, coaching, and people leadership skills
• Strong technical background in software engineering, including the ability to review and debug complex systems and guide technical tradeoffs
• You enjoy leading technical teams while staying close to customers and field execution
• You are passionate about or have great interest in autonomy, robotics, aerospace, defense technology, or deploying advanced software in the field
• 3+ years of experience working in a startup environment
• Experience managing or leading teams in the defense, robotics, aerospace, or autonomous systems industry
• Experience building or scaling a forward deployed engineering, solutions engineering, applications engineering, or customer engineering function
• Experience gathering field feedback, influencing product direction based on customer needs, and establishing repeatable customer success playbooks