# Engineering Manager - Defense Physical AI

**Company:** [Applied Intuition](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/applied-intuition)
**Location:** Washington, DC
**Role:** Engineering Management
**Salary:** $250k – $300k/yr
**Experience:** 8+ years
**Skills:** Software Engineering, Operating Systems, Hardware Integration, System Deployment, Systems Integration, Architecture Design, Customer Engagement, Technical Leadership, Security Clearance
**Posted:** 2026-09-01

> Leads a team of Forward Deployed Engineers delivering and integrating physical AI systems for defense and government customers. Requires 8+ years of industry experience, recent technical leadership, production deployment experience, broad software and hardware expertise, and U.S. security-clearance eligibility.

## Job Description

## Responsibilities
- Lead and scale a team of 8–12 Forward Deployed Engineers responsible for end-to-end execution of high-stakes customer projects.
- Hire, mentor, and develop engineering talent while setting technical direction across concurrent engagements.
- Work directly with defense and government customers to deploy, integrate, and operationalize vehicle intelligence products in military and government environments.
- Address challenges spanning software engineering, operating system configuration, system deployment, and hardware integration.
- Bridge customer-built systems with Applied Intuition solutions.
- Design scalable, consistent approaches for customer engagement and project execution.
- Develop architectural solutions that improve consistency and scalability across projects.
- Collaborate with engineering, product, and customer teams to drive successful outcomes.
- Own technical outcomes, resolve escalations, and adapt delivery to changing requirements and priorities.

## Requirements
- 8+ years of industry experience, including at least 2 years of recent technical leadership experience.
- Production-grade software experience, including deploying software or hardware systems to active customers.
- Exceptional customer-facing communication and customer problem-solving skills.
- Proven ability to mentor and lead engineering talent.
- Broad technical experience across software engineering, operating systems, and hardware.
- Experience integrating and deploying complex systems.
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to operate independently in ambiguous, rapidly changing environments.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field.
- Must be a U.S. citizen and hold or be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

## Compensation
- Base salary: **$250,000–$300,000 USD annually**.
- Total compensation may also include equity, health and insurance benefits, 401(k) retirement benefits with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off.

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