National Security Solutions Engineering Lead (Remote)
Skydio, Inc.
Get a reply from this employer
Your resume and cover letter, tailored to exactly what they’re hiring for.
Benefits offered by this job
Job summary
Skydio, Inc. seeks a Senior Manager, Solutions Engineering for National Security to lead a national-security-focused SE team providing upstream requirements, evaluations, and field trials for DoD/IC customers.
The role is remote, full-time, with ~50% travel including international engagements, reporting to the Director of Solutions Engineering – National Security. Strong defense experience and leadership are essential.
Qualifications
- 5+ years of relevant technical experience in defense/customer-facing roles.
- 5+ years federal government or defense experience in a UAS-relevant discipline.
- 1+ years leading a technical team; mentorship experience preferred.
- Understanding of defense acquisition process from requirements to fielding; familiarity with NDAA/Blue UAS is a plus.
Responsibilities
- Lead and mentor the Solutions Engineering team across national security accounts.
- Drive technical strategy, evaluations, and field trials to win programs.
- Own defense problem sets, shape upstream requirements, and ensure accreditation readiness.
- Represent customer needs inside Skydio and enable scalable reference architectures.
Skills
Tools
Job description
US Remote- Full-time
About the Role:
Skydio is seeking an experienced Solutions Engineering leader to join our team as Senior Manager, Solutions Engineering for National Security, Defense. This role leads the team supporting the Department of War, United States Special Operations Command, and the Intelligence Community, with the work centred on upstream requirements development, evaluations and field trials, system integration, and unit-level enablement across Skydio's end-to-end UAS solutions.
This is a remote role. Travel of approximately 50%, including regular international travel, is required to support customer engagements, field activities, deployments, and company events.
This role reports to the Director, Solutions Engineering – National Security.
About the Team:
The National Security Solutions Engineering team is the technical arm of Skydio's defense go-to-market motion. We sit between the customer and the product: translating mission problems into requirements, proving capability in the field, and making sure Skydio's products are accredited, integrated, and flown at scale, including in contested environments where the network, the spectrum, and the GPS signal are all in question.
The team is measured on technical win rate, evaluation and field trial outcomes, program expansion, and the quality of the requirements we push back into the product organization.
Solutions Engineers are critical members of the Skydio organization and work closely with Account Executives, Engineering, and Product to support deal progression, customer confidence, successful deployments, and the long-term success of federal sUAS programs.
How You’ll Make an Impact:
Hire, onboard, coach, and retain your team, with clear ownership and coverage across the agencies and components in your segment, and develop people beyond the seat they are in.
Set the bar for technical quality — demos, trial plans, integration designs, RFI and RFP responses, and customer-facing documentation that hold up in front of operators, engineers, and program leadership.
Own capacity across your segment. Decide where Solutions Engineering time goes, say no when it needs to be said, and make the tradeoffs visible to leadership.
Set a sustainable operating rhythm for a team that travels hard. Manage deployment tempo deliberately so field presence does not come at the cost of retention.
Own the technical strategy for pursuits across your accounts: evaluation and down-select strategy, proof of concept and field trial design, and the technical narrative that differentiates Skydio.
Serve as the senior technical escalation point on critical pursuits, deployments, and customer issues. Jump in and work the problem yourself, and be in the field when it matters.
Partner with Sales leadership on pipeline, forecast, and account planning, and on the land-and-expand motion that turns a pilot program into a program of record.
Shape requirements upstream. Get your team in front of program offices, capability development staffs, and operators early so solicitations reflect capability we actually have.
Build the muscle to compete in exercises and operational assessments. Service and SOF selection decisions are frequently made in the field, under observation. Plan for that as the primary proving ground, not a follow-on step.
Build and maintain team fluency in the accreditation path — ATO, impact levels for cloud hosting, NIPR and SIPR employment, cross-domain considerations — and in NDAA compliance, Blue UAS status, and the vehicles these customers buy through: programs of record, OTAs, SBIR Phase III, IDIQs, and unit-level O&M.
Guide integration strategy with the systems these forces already fight with: TAK and its SOF variants, MANET and secure tactical radios, tactical C2 and fires applications, and service mission-planning environments.
Own the airworthiness and airspace picture across service lines, including service flight clearances, shipboard considerations, BVLOS approvals, waivers, COAs, and range and installation approvals.
Understand employment in contested and degraded conditions — EW, GPS-denied, comms-limited — well enough to design honest test plans and keep the team from overpromising.
Be the aggregated voice of the customer to Product and Engineering. Turn field observations into prioritized, defensible requirements rather than a list of one-off asks.
Build the enablement content, reference architectures, and reusable technical assets that let the team scale, and maintain first-hand product knowledge through frequent hands-on use.
What Makes You a Good Fit:
5+ years of relevant technical experience, including time in a customer-facing technical role supporting defense customers.
5+ years of federal government or defense experience in a discipline relevant to UAS — operations, maintenance, ISR, test and evaluation, acquisition, or training.
1+ years leading a technical team, formally or as a technical lead with hiring and mentorship responsibility. First-time managers with a demonstrated record of leading and developing people in an operational environment will be considered.
Demonstrated understanding of a defense acquisition process for technology, from requirements development through evaluation, award, and fielding.
Technical depth in at least one core area: UAS platforms, RF and datalink systems, EO/IR and other sensor payloads, software integration and APIs, cloud and data architecture, or government IT security.
Comfort operating inside a Sales organization, including owning a quota, deal strategy, and the judgment to know when to commit technical resources and when to decline.
Excellent written and verbal communication. You can brief an operator, a program manager, and a general officer without changing the facts.
Lead by example. Willing to do whatever is needed to get a customer situation resolved.
Nice to Have
Direct experience supporting SOCOM or its components (NSWC, MARSOC, AFSOC, USASOC, JSOC), a Theater Special Operations Command, or Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Space Force units.
Prior military UAS operator, maintainer, or instructor certification.
Experience with shipboard, small boat, or maritime UAS employment, including launch and recovery from a moving deck.
Experience in contested or degraded environments — EW, GPS-denied, comms-limited — and with mission planning, CONOPS, and TTP development for small UAS.
Hands-on experience with MANET radios and secure comms (TSM, TrellisWare, Silvus, Persistent Systems), and familiarity with counter-UAS and airspace deconfliction.
Experience navigating an RMF package or ATO from the vendor side, and with OTAs, prototype agreements, or SBIR Phase III transitions.
Familiarity with foreign disclosure, ITAR, and FMS processes.
Working knowledge of Salesforce, Palantir, Databricks, or equivalents.
What Is Required
Ability to travel up to 50% of the time, including regular international travel.
Ability to lift up to 60 lbs unaided.
Active Secret or Top Secret security clearance, or the ability to obtain one.
Obtaining FAA Part 107 certification within the first 60 days of employment is strongly encouraged for all Skydio employees and required for certain positions.
Compensation: At Skydio, our compensation packages for regular, full-time employees include competitive base salaries, equity in the form of stock options, and comprehensive benefits packages. Compensation will vary based on factors, including skill level, proficiencies, transferable knowledge, and experience. Relocation assistance may also be provided for eligible roles. The annual base salary range for this position is $172,000 - $215,000* plus commission. Fundamentally, we believe that equity is the key to long-term financial growth, and we ensure all regular, full-time employees have the opportunity to significantly benefit from the company's success. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to enroll in the Company’s group health insurance plans. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to receive the following benefits: Paid vacation time, sick leave, holiday pay and 401K savings plan. This position and all associated benefits are subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws, as well as the Company’s policies and eligibility criteria.
*Compensation for certain positions may vary based on the position’s location.
#LI-AY1
At Skydio we believe that diversity drives innovation. We have created a multidisciplinary environment that embraces the power of diverse perspectives to create elegant solutions for complex problems. We are committed to growing our network of people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local anti-discrimination laws.
For positions located in the United States of America, Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov/
Drop your resume here!
Parsing your resume. Autofilling key fields...
This job has application limits
Please Note: To ensure a fair and thoughtful review process, candidates may submit one application per role every 90 days and up to five total applications across all Skydio roles within any 60-day period.
Name
Phone Number
Resume
or drag and drop here
Websites
Portfolios, Github etc.
Prior US Government Employment?
Do you currently, or have you in the last 10 years, worked for the US government (e.g., Congressional staffer, member of military, state, or federal agencies)?
Skydio provides equal employment opportunities to applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other classification protected by applicable law.
Skydio is a federal contractor or subcontractor subject to certain governmental recordkeeping and reporting requirements for the administration of civil rights laws and regulations. Employment decisions are made on the basis of job-related criteria without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, genetic information, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.
We invite all applicants to voluntarily self-identify their race, ethnicity, and gender. Submission of the information on this form is strictly voluntary and refusal to provide it will not subject you to any adverse treatment. Information obtained will be retained in a confidential file and separate from personnel records. This information may only be used in accordance with the provision of applicable federal laws, executive orders, and regulations. If you want more information about any of the sections, please check with a company representative.
Male
Female
Decline to self-identify
Race
Hispanic or Latino - A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.
White (Not Hispanic or Latino) - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
Black or African American (Not Hispanic or Latino) - A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander (Not Hispanic or Latino) - A person having origins in any of the peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
Asian (Not Hispanic or Latino) - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
American Indian or Alaska Native (Not Hispanic or Latino) - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Two or More Races (Not Hispanic or Latino) - All persons who identify with more than one of the above five races.
SELF-IDENTIFICATION OF VETERAN STATUS (Completion is voluntary and will not subject you to adverse treatment)
Skydio is a Government contractor subject to Section 4212 of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended by the Jobs for Veterans Act of 2002, which requires Government contractors to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment protected veterans. If you believe that you belong to any of the following categories of protected veterans, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.
Disabled veteran – A veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military and is entitled to disability compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to disability compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability
Recently separated veteran – A veteran separated during the three-year period beginning on the date of the veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S military, ground, naval, or air service
Active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran – A veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge was authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense
Armed forces service medal veteran – A veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985 (61 Fed. Reg. 1209).
I identify as one or more of the classifications of protected veteran listed above
I am not a protected veteran
I decline to self-identify for protected veteran status
'/%3e%3cpath%20d='M101.744%2012.4726L102.894%2016.1947L99.0021%2013.2201L101.744%2012.4726ZM105.3%208.40937H100.488L99.0026%203.59473L97.5116%208.41047L92.7%208.40385L96.5965%2011.3834L95.1055%2016.1942L99.0021%2013.2196L101.408%2011.3834L105.3%208.40992V8.40937Z'%20fill='white'/%3e%3cdefs%3e%3clinearGradient%20id='paint0_linear_5593_1381'%20x1='90'%20y1='9.44471'%20x2='99'%20y2='9.44471'%20gradientUnits='userSpaceOnUse'%3e%3cstop%20stop-color='%2300AD70'/%3e%3cstop%20offset='0.998594'%20stop-color='%2300B67A'/%3e%3cstop%20offset='1'%20stop-color='%23DCDCE6'/%3e%3c/linearGradient%3e%3c/defs%3e%3c/svg%3e){kind=small}
