Manager, Applications Engineering - EOIR/Thermal Imaging

Leonardo DRS; Dallas (TX); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

401(k) savings plan

Telemedicine

Life and disability insurance

Legal insurance

Company contribution to a health-subs.

Job summary

Leonardo DRS in Dallas, TX is seeking a Manager of Applications Engineering for the Uncooled OEM Camera Business. The role leads the technical support team, translates customer needs into technical solutions, and drives design-in and post-sales support for domestic and international OEM customers across unmanned and defense markets.

The position requires hands-on technical depth, strong customer engagement, disciplined team leadership, and collaboration with Product Management, Engineering,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or another relevant technical discipline.
• Five+ years in applications engineering, systems engineering, or technical customer support.
• Experience leading technical teams and prioritizing work.
• Strong hands-on capability in electronics, embedded software, and camera integration.
• Able to travel domestically and internationally up to 30%.

Responsibilities

• Lead a high-performing applications engineering and technical support team.
• Define roles, capacity plans, SLAs, escalation paths, and processes.
• Provide pre-sales and post-sales support including design-in guidance.
• Develop product documentation, development kits, and training materials.
• Coordinate interoperability testing and field support activities.
• Report KPIs for technical support performance and customer satisfaction.

Skills

Leadership

Customer engagement

Technical depth

Communication

Travel planning

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or another relevant technical discipline

Tools

Camera interfaces

Video and communications protocols

Job description

The Electro Optical InfraredSystems (EOIS) line of business within DRS has locations in Dallas and Austin, TX, Melbourne, FL, and Cypress, CA. EOIS develops, manufactures, and supports infrared and electro-optical solutions for soldiers, ground vehicles and airborne platforms. We offer an exciting and challenging work environment, a competitive salary and benefits package, and a business culture that rewards performance.

Employing the world’s brightest. Supporting the world’s bravest.

Location: Dallas, TX

Business Unit: Electro-Optical Infrared Systems (EOIS)

Employment Type: Exempt, Full-Time Employee

Telework Type: Hybrid

Relocation Assistance: NA

Schedule: 9/80

Shift: 1st

Job Summary

The Manager, Applications Engineering, Uncooled OEM Camera Business leads the technical support team that enables customers and channel partners to successfully evaluate, design in, integrate, deploy, and sustain Leonardo DRS uncooled OEM camera products. Reporting to the Director of Product Management, this leader will build and manage a customer-focused applications engineering capability supporting domestic and international OEM and integrator customers across unmanned systems and other commercial and defense markets.

This role is a key component of the Uncooled OEM Camera Business Sales & Marketing Build-Out. The Manager will translate customer requirements into technical solutions; provide pre-sales and post-sales support; develop the tools, documentation, development kits, and training that accelerate adoption; and ensure customer feedback is converted into actionable product-roadmap, quality, and market insights. The successful candidate combines hands‑on technical depth, strong customer engagement skills, disciplined team leadership, and an ability to work effectively across Product Management, Engineering, Operations, Quality, Sales, and Marketing.

Job Responsibilities

• Technical Support Team Leadership
  • Establish, lead, coach, and scale a high-performing applications engineering and technical support team aligned to the Uncooled OEM Camera Business growth strategy.
  • Define team roles, capacity plans, service levels, escalation paths, and operating processes for the technical support function.
  • Implement mechanisms to prioritize, assign, track, and close customer technical requests, design-in activities, field issues, and corrective actions.
  • Develop team technical capability in uncooled EO/IR cameras, thermal imaging, camera interfaces, software tools, and customer application domains, with particular emphasis on unmanned platforms.
• Sales & Marketing Build‑Out — Technical Support Team Duties
  • Partner with Product Management, Product Marketing, and Sales to make applications engineering an integral part of the go‑to‑market model for direct, distributor, and OEM/integrator channels.
  • Provide responsive pre‑sales technical support, including customer discovery, solution architecture, product demonstrations, proof‑of‑concept support, and design‑in guidance.
  • Deliver post‑sales technical support through email, phone, virtual, and on‑site engagement; manage customer cases; replicate and resolve technical issues; and coordinate clear customer communications through Sales.
  • Support customer, partner, and distributor training; trade‑show demonstrations; customer demonstrations; and technical content for marketing campaigns and channel enablement.
  • Establish a closed‑loop voice‑of‑customer process that converts application needs, competitive observations, feature requests, and recurring support issues into actionable product‑roadmap and market inputs.
• Customer Integration & Product Enablement
  • Own the development, quality, and maintenance of product technical documentation, including quick‑start guides, user guides, design and integration guides, interface control documents, application notes, and technical FAQs.
  • Lead development and maintenance of product development kits, including hardware and software development kits, camera‑control GUI tools, demo kits, accessories, and system‑integration tools such as field‑of‑view and site‑planning calculators.
  • Guide customers in integrating uncooled OEM cameras into UAV, UGV, USV, and other systems, including electrical, mechanical, software, video, and communications interfaces.
  • Coordinate interoperability testing with adjacent hardware, video‑management systems, analytics software, and customer platforms; document findings and application guidance.
  • Support new‑product acceptance, qualification, and design‑validation activities by reviewing test plans and conditions, providing application perspective, and performing designated testing.
• Cross‑Functional Execution & Continuous Improvement
  • Partner with Engineering, Quality, and Operations to investigate customer issues, evaluate returns/RMAs as needed, and drive root‑cause analysis and corrective‑action closure.
  • Provide product‑definition and roadmap input based on customer interaction, technology trends, competitive assessments, and feature‑priority analysis.
  • Develop and report KPIs for technical support performance, including response time, case aging, design‑ins supported, issue resolution, documentation coverage, training effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.
  • Ensure all customer‑support activities comply with applicable company procedures, export‑control requirements, and commercial and defense trade regulations.
  • Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Required
  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, or another relevant technical discipline.
  • Five or more years of progressively responsible experience in applications engineering, systems engineering, technical customer support, product engineering, or a related technical‑commercial role.
  • Demonstrated experience leading, coaching, or formally supervising technical teams and establishing effective work‑prioritization and case‑management processes.
  • Strong hands‑on technical capability in one or more of the following: electronics design/debug/productization; embedded or application software; video and communications interfaces; camera integration; or infrared imaging applications.
  • Experience supporting customers in technically complex design‑in, system‑integration, or field‑support environments.
  • Ability to communicate complex technical information clearly to engineers, customers, commercial leaders, and executive stakeholders.
  • Ability to travel domestically and internationally up to 30% in support of customer, partner, and business needs.
• Preferred
  • Experience with uncooled EO/IR or thermal imaging products and their application in unmanned systems, including UAV, UGV, USV, robotics, or related platforms.
  • Experience with relevant video and communications protocols, such as Ethernet, TCP/IP, USB, HDMI, Camera Link, serial interfaces, and digital/analog video standards.
  • Experience supporting OEM, integrator, commercial, defense, security/surveillance, avionics, or video‑image‑processing customers.
  • Experience building product documentation, development kits, application notes, technical training, and customer‑facing demonstrations.
  • Working knowledge of export controls and trade‑compliance requirements applicable to commercial and defense products.
  • Advanced degree, relevant technical certifications, or project‑management experience.

Core Competencies

• Customer Focus — Builds trusted technical relationships and turns customer needs into practical solutions.
• Technical Leadership — Establishes technical credibility, develops people, and creates repeatable support processes.
• Collaboration — Builds productive partnerships across functions to resolve issues and accelerate customer success.
• Execution — Sets clear priorities, uses data to manage performance, and delivers reliable results in a fast‑paced environment.
• Strategic Perspective — Connects customer insights and technical trends to product, market, and business‑growth decisions.

U.S. Citizenship required. This position requires an active DOD security clearance or the ability to obtain such clearance within a reasonable time after commencement of employment.

Taking care of our people is a top priority at Leonardo DRS. We are proud to offer competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental, and vision coverage, a company contribution to a health savings account, telemedicine, life and disability insurance, legal insurance, and a 401(k) savings plan.

• Medical coverage
• Dental coverage
• Vision coverage
• Company contribution to a health savings account
• Telemedicine
• Life insurance
• Disability insurance
• Legal insurance
• 401(k) savings plan

*Some employees are eligible for limited benefits only

Leonardo DRS, Inc. and its subsidiaries provide equal opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.