Head of Engineering, Defense OS

applied; Ann Arbor (MI); On-site; USD 200,000 - 275,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Intuition in the United States seeks a Head of Engineering to build and lead the DefenseOS organization, focusing on WarshipOS across zonal compute, data transport, SDK, and a SIL/HIL test environment with a digital twin.

You will hire and grow a multi-disciplinary team, set engineering quality, and partner with Navy customers and shipbuilders to deliver mission-critical software hardware integration on time and with high reliability.

Qualifications

• 12+ years in software and systems engineering
• 6+ years leading engineering teams and managers
• Shipped complex platforms integrating real-time safety-critical systems
• Led programs spanning hardware and software
• Experience with middleware, data transport, APIs/SDKs

Responsibilities

• Build and lead the DefenseOS engineering organization and grow its leads
• Own the technical strategy and roadmap for WarshipOS pillars
• Lead the zonal architecture and deployment of zone controllers and centralized compute
• Stand up the software and data platform with APIs/SDKs
• Set engineering best practices for hardware and software, CI/CD, test and quality
• Own program execution, plan releases, manage risk and delivery
• Partner with product, defense customers, and shipbuilders/integrators
• Communicate status and risk to senior leadership

Skills

Engineering leadership

Software platform depth

Hardware/software fluency

Systems integration

Delivery under constraints

Cross-functional leadership

Job description

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 role

The Navy is racing to break decades of closed, single-vendor ship architectures. Combat systems, C4I, and hull, mechanical, and electrical (HM&E) systems run on separate, vendor-locked compute with no shared data plane. The Navy is modernizing ship systems and requires a platform to unify it. A warship operating system (WarshipOS) is Applied's answer: the onboard and offboard infrastructure and application layer that create a unified compute and data platform across a ship and test across the manned and unmanned fleet. The goal is to become the software integrator for the Navy, and it is built directly on Applied's commercial automotive VehicleOS foundation.

We are hiring a Head of Engineering to build and lead the DefenseOS engineering organization, with an initial focus on building WarshipOS. You will own technical strategy and delivery across the product's four pillars: a zonal compute architecture, a data transport and SDK layer that frees data from proprietary subsystems, and a modern SIL/HIL test environment with a digital twin. You will hire and grow a multi-disciplinary team and its technical leads, set the bar for engineering quality, and partner directly with product, Navy customers, and shipbuilders. This is a leadership role: you will direct specialists across combat-systems architecture, hardware and EE, perception, and integration rather than owning every domain yourself.

What you'll do

• Build and lead the DefenseOS engineering organization. Hire, structure, and grow a multi-disciplinary team across platform and software, EE and hardware architecture, perception and fusion, and integration and test, and develop its technical leads.

• Own the technical strategy and roadmap across the four WarshipOS pillars: zonal compute, data transport / API / SDK, AI/ML perception and fusion platform, and modern SIL/HIL test with a digital twin, aligned to the broader DefenseOS strategy.

• Lead the zonal architecture. Drive the design and deployment of location-based zone controllers and centralized compute that replace federated, domain-based designs, and their interfaces to prime-built combat, C4I, and HM&E systems.

• Stand up the software and data platform. Direct the middleware, APIs, and SDKs that extract and unify data from sensor and mission systems behind a common data plane across classification levels.

• Set engineering best practices across hardware and software: architecture, code review, CI/CD, automated and hardware-in-the-loop test, performance, and quality metrics suited to mission-critical, field-deployed systems.

• Own program execution. Plan releases, track progress against milestones across anchor programs, surface risks early, and deliver on schedule and to quality under acquisition and field constraints.

• Partner with product, defense customers, and shipbuilders/integrators as a design-informed engineering leader, shaping operator-facing capability and the trade-offs that keep the roadmap mapped to operational value.

• Communicate status, risk, and outcomes to senior leadership, elevate clearly, and provide engineering input into program and business decisions.

What we're looking for

• Engineering leadership at scale. Typically 12+ years in software and systems engineering with 6+ years leading engineering teams, including managing other managers and technical leads, and a track record of building and scaling a team from a small core.

• Software platform depth. Shipped complex software platforms that integrate real-time, mission- or safety-critical systems: middleware, data transport, and APIs / SDKs that unify heterogeneous subsystems behind a common data plane.

• Hardware / software systems fluency. Led programs spanning hardware and software (compute architecture, sensor and system integration, lab-to-platform test), enough to set direction for EE / hardware and integration leads.

• Integrating modern compute with legacy, closed subsystems. Built the gateways, adapters, and abstraction layers that connect proprietary or undocumented interfaces into a unified data plane.

• Delivery under hard constraints. Ownership of the full lifecycle from requirements through deployment and sustainment under reliability, latency, safety, and field-readiness constraints, with disciplined execution in ambiguous, fast-moving programs.

• Cross-functional leadership and communication with product, hardware, operations, customers, and senior leadership, including clear escalation of technical and schedule risk.

Security Requirements:

• Must be a U.S. Citizen

• Must hold or be eligible for a U.S. Secret security clearance

For more information about U.S. security clearances: click here.

Nice to have

• Software-defined vehicles (SDVs) or analogous commercial platforms where a zonal architecture and centralized compute replaced distributed, domain-based controllers, directly transferable to a warship operating system.

• Naval or maritime subsystems: combat / mission systems, shipboard communications (C5I, tactical data links, SATCOM), or HM&E.

• Unmanned surface vessels (USVs) or other unmanned / autonomous platforms; familiarity with shipboard size, weight, power, and survivability constraints.

• Prior naval service or fleet / operational experience.

Compensation at Applied Intuition for eligible roles includes base salary, equity, and benefits. Base salary is a single component of the total compensation package, which may also include equity in the form of options and/or restricted stock units, comprehensive health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage, 401k retirement benefits with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off. Note that benefits are subject to change and may vary based on jurisdiction of employment.

Applied Intuition pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum intended target base salary for new hire salaries for the position. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, interview performance, and the level and scope of the position.

Please reference the job posting’s subtitle for where this position will be located. For pay transparency purposes, the base salary range for this full-time position in the location listed is: $200,000 to $275,000 USD annually.

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.