Manager, Autonomy Applications Engineering (R5188)

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube. 

Job Description: 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.  This role includes up to 30% travel, including frequent customer site visits and oversight of active customer engagements. 

What you'll do:

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 

You should apply if:

You enjoy leading technical teams while staying close to customers and field execution 

You are energized by coaching engineers through dynamic on-site challenges in real operational contexts 

You can translate ambiguous customer needs into structured technical plans, team priorities, and measurable outcomes 

You are comfortable making decisions, removing blockers, and helping a team drive progress under pressure 

You have strong engineering fundamentals and can build credibility quickly with technical stakeholders, customers, and direct reports 

You enjoy working across engineering, product, and customer teams to improve both product outcomes and customer success 

You are passionate about or have great interest in autonomy, robotics, aerospace, defense technology, or deploying advanced software in th …