Senior Manager, Software Engineering (Autonomous Systems)

Location: San Diego, CA, United States; work in an office and production environment is required.

Salary: $141,000–$215,000 per year

Company

Develops autonomous systems and defense technologies across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains, including AI-powered drones and integrated autonomy platforms.

What you will do

• Lead a multidisciplinary software organization covering backend architecture, UI/UX, quality assurance, and system-level software integration for the Titan RF CUAS product.
• Manage staffing, training, performance evaluation, career development, mentorship, and retention across software engineering teams.
• Establish Agile development processes in Jira, including planning, prioritization, sprint execution, reporting, and retrospectives.
• Define software development standards, coding practices, documentation, engineering metrics, testing practices, quality gates, and code review processes.
• Lead software release management, configuration management, versioning, deployment, rollback, and production transition.
• Partner with the Chief Engineer and cross-functional hardware and software teams to execute IRAD projects from concept through prototype, integration, verification, and production.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• 12+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years managing software engineering teams.
• Experience managing engineers across levels from entry-level through principal, establishing Agile processes, and using Jira for engineering execution.
• Experience integrating software into hardware-based products and collaborating with mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, systems, quality, and software teams.
• Experience with IRAD, prototype, or new product development projects, including software testing, CI/CD, and release management.
• Current U.S. citizenship is required. The role is subject to ITAR/EAR compliance and requires access to controlled technical information.

Nice to have

• Advanced degree in a related technical field.
• Experience with UAS, drones, robotics, autonomous systems, defense, or aerospace platforms.
• Experience transitioning prototype or IRAD software into production and fielded systems.
• Experience with AI-assisted development tooling.

Culture & Benefits

• Regular employment with medical, dental, and vision benefits.
• 401(k) plan with company matching.
• 9/80 work schedule and paid holiday shutdown.
• Mission-focused environment developing autonomous and defense technologies.
• Occasional travel within the continental United States may be required.