Engineering Manager - Axion

About Applied Intuition 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 . We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that 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. About the team Applied Intuition is building the toolchain for autonomy across air, land, sea, space and spectrum. The Axion product family is a modular, all-domain autonomy toolchain: simulation (Axion Sim), hardware/software integration (Axion Integrate), MLOps for ATR models (Axion MLOps), mission control UIs (Axion Mission Control), etc.  The Axion team is mission-critical: enabling development, test, integration and deployment of collaborative autonomous systems in contested environments. You’ll be working at the intersection of high-fidelity simulation, autonomy software, hardware platforms, and human-machine interfaces. About the role As an Engineering Manager on the Axion team, you will lead a cross-functional engineering group (software, simulation, integration, UI/UX) to deliver high-impact autonomy toolchain capabilities. You will drive engineering execution, mentor and grow a team of engineers, define technical roadmaps, hold the bar on quality, and collaborate closely with product, operations, hardware/integration teams, and defense customers. Your work will influence the architecture, scalability, performance, and field-readiness of Axion products. At Applied Intuition, you will: Lead, coach, and grow a team of engineers (individual contributors, leads) working on one or more Axion modules (e.g., simulation engine, mission-control UI, hardware integration pipeline) Define and own the technical roadmap for your area: translate product vision into deliverables, ensure alignment with overall Axion strategy Drive software engineering best practices: architecture design, code reviews, CI/CD, test automation, performance/scalability, quality metrics Manage project execution: planning sprints/releases, monitoring progress, identifying risks/blockers, ensuring delivery of milestones on time and to quality Work with product management and UX/design to refine requirements, make trade-offs, and ensure that the engineering roadmap maps to user/customer value and field readiness Collaborate with hardware/integration and operations teams to ensure seamless delivery of autonomy toolchain across simulation, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), live platforms Ensure the team is set up for high-impact: recruiting top talent, setting clear goals, fostering a culture of ownership, iteration, and innovation Communicate status, risk, and outcomes to senior leadership; escalate as needed; provide engineering input for business decisions Stay abreast of emerging technologies: simulation, autonomy, AI, real-time systems, human-machine interfaces, and help the team apply them We’re looking for someone who has: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (advanced degree preferred) Proven experience (e.g., 3 – 5+ years) in software engineering roles with increasing responsibility, and at least 1 – 2 years in a leadership role (team lead, manager) delivering complex systems Strong technical background: architecture, design, implementation and delivery of large-scale, high-performance software systems (ideally simulation, real-time, autonomy, robotics, or hardware integration) Experience managing full software development lifecycle: requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment, maintenance Experience in mentoring and growing engineering teams: recruiting, performance management, career development, building high-performing teams Excellent collaboration and communication skills: able to work cross-functionally with product, UX/design, hardware/integration, operations, senior leadership Comfort in a fast-paced, highly-ambiguous environment; ability to make thoughtful tra