Senior Manager of Digital Engineering

True Anomaly, Inc.; Long Beach (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Generous vacation

Equity

401k and Roth 401k

Learning & Development

Job summary

True Anomaly, Inc. is seeking a founding Senior Manager of Digital Engineering to own the digital thread across engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing. You will architect and implement core platforms, write production-grade code, and hire engineers from junior to staff level.

This role demands shipping volume software in a fast-paced, high-stakes space environment. You will guide architecture, drive build-vs-buy decisions, and partner with cross-functional teams to deliver traceable

Qualifications

• 8+ years of total software engineering experience with hands-on production work.
• Proven ability to translate business priorities into technical strategy.
• Strong communication, analytics, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• U.S. Person status required and security‑sensitive environment experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead Digital Engineering and own the platform architecture and patterns.
• Build and scale a high-performing software engineering team.
• Deliver the digital thread across PLM, MBSE, ERP, and MES systems.
• Ensure observability, data quality, and auditability for regulated data.

Skills

Leadership

Hands-on coding

Go

Python

Cloud technologies

API & integration patterns

Data modeling

Software platforms

Infrastructure as code

CI/CD

AWS

ERP

MBSE

PLM

MES

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent

Tools

Go

Python

AWS

CI/CD

Infrastructure as Code

PLM

MBSE

ERP

MES

Job description

• True Anomaly delivers decisive capabilities for space superiority. We build autonomous spacecraft, advanced payloads, mission software, and space-based interceptors — enabling the U.S. and its Allies to secure the space environment and counter threats from the ultimate high ground
• True Anomaly designs, sources, and manufactures spacecraft across a landscape of engineering and business systems — PLM, requirements/ALM, MBSE, and ERP — that today do not share a connected flow of product data. As Senior Manager of Digital Engineering, you will own the digital thread that changes this: the authoritative, traceable flow of product data across the entire lifecycle, and the internal platform and in-house software that make it real. Delivering this digital thread is a contractual requirement, so the mandate is concrete and the timeline is externally driven
• This is a founding, hands-on leadership role — early on you will build the platform yourself and set its architecture and engineering patterns in code, while you hire and grow the software engineering team behind it, from early-career engineers to staff level, expanding as the mandate grows
• As the team matures your hands-on share deliberately gives way to multiplying through others, but you stay close enough to the architecture to lead your engineers on the merits
• The platform you build will give engineering, supply chain, and manufacturing one authoritative source of product data instead of manual exports and disconnected tools, with the auditability and traceability an ITAR/CUI environment demands
• Integrations connect today’s tools, which remain owned and administered by the teams that run them; over time, your team will build in-house systems of record wherever owning the software serves the company better than buying it
• This is a role for a builder who leads — an engineer who never stopped shipping and is energized by developing people and standing up a high-performing function from the ground up. It is not a fit for a pure people-manager who is years out of the code, nor for a senior IC who does not genuinely want to build and grow a team
• Team Leadership & Development
• Hire, coach, mentor, and grow a team of software engineers, from early-career to staff level
• Set clear goals, provide regular feedback, and support career development and growth planning for direct reports
• Foster a collaborative, high-ownership culture that thrives under fast-paced, high-stakes conditions
• Manage on-call and support rotations so the team can keep its software reliable in production
• Hands-On Technical Contribution
• Build early: personally write production code for the platform’s core services, integrations, and first applications while the team is small, establishing the architecture and patterns others will extend
• Stay hands-on as the team grows — through design and code review, prototyping hard problems, and pairing — enough to make sound technical calls and keep the trust of senior engineers
• Deliberately hand off and multiply: shift work to the team as you hire, avoiding becoming the bottleneck or single point of failure on any critical path
• Set and uphold the engineering bar for code quality, testing, and technical documentation by example
• Strategy & Program Ownership
• Define and drive the digital thread roadmap across the platform, integrations, in-house applications, and workflow automation — including build-vs-buy decisions for core engineering and business systems, made together with the teams that own them today
• Balance new platform capability against operational support load, enforcing the discipline to protect roadmap work
• Run the team’s delivery — planning, prioritization, and a predictable release cadence
• Proactively identify gaps across the program and prioritize resourcing to close them
• Cross-Functional Partnership
• Partner with engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, the owners of today’s engineering and business systems, IT, Platform Engineering, and Cybersecurity to embed the digital thread into how products are designed, sourced, and built
• Define clear responsibility boundaries with system owners and shared governance for integration changes, upgrades that affect integrations, access and separation-of-duties, and high-risk production change management
• Serve as an escalation point for cross-functional questions about product-data flow and integrations
• Communicate roadmap, delivery status, and risk to technical and executive audiences
• Technical Oversight
• Provide technical guidance and review for major initiatives such as cross-system data architecture, integration patterns, traceability, and platform operations
• Ensure observability, auditability, sync health, and data quality are built into the platform
• Support compliance efforts (e.g., CUI/ITAR, auditability) by ensuring the team produces necessary evidence and documentation
• This role operates in a fast-paced, high-stakes environment supporting national security space operations, where adaptability and rapid decision-making are essential
• On-call and support rotation oversight, including occasional after-hours participation, may be required
• High degree of autonomy and ownership over the Digital Engineering function
• Direct access to leadership and significant opportunity to influence technical strategy
• Travel to other company sites as needed
• Physical demands may include frequent standing, sitting, walking, bending, and lifting or carrying items up to 20 lbs

Benefits

• 100% Employer-Sponsored Healthcare: We’ve got you covered! Our comprehensive healthcare package is fully sponsored, ensuring you and your loved ones stay healthy and worry-free, so you can focus on shaping the future of space security.
• Generous Time Off: We believe in working hard and recharging fully. Our generous vacation policy gives you the flexibility to take the time you need to relax, explore, and come back energized to take on new challenges.
• Equity: Own an equity stake in True Anomaly as you build something transformative. With equity options, you’re not just working for True Anomaly; you’re an owner. As an essential part of our growth and future success, we want you to share in the upside potential!
• 401k and Roth 401k options: Plan for tomorrow with our 401K and Roth 401K options that put you in control of your financial future.
• Learning & Development Opportunities: Your growth fuels our innovation. We’re committed to providing you with the resources and training to expand your skills, spark new ideas, and advance your career with us.

Track record shipping software products or platforms to production on a predictable cadenceU.S. Citizen or lawful permanent resident (U.S. Person) as required under ITAR8+ years of total experience in software engineering or a related technical field, with substantial and recent time as a hands-on individual contributor — you have built production systems, not just managed people who doProven ability to translate business priorities into technical strategy and communicate it across all levels of an organizationExcellent analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and communication skillsStrong understanding of cloud and enterprise technologies, API and integration patterns, data modeling, and keeping data consistent across systems of recordCurrent coding proficiency in at least one modern language (e.g., Go, Python) — able to contribute production-quality code, prototype hard problems, and lead code review credibly, especially while the team is smallDemonstrated experience building or maturing one or more of: software platforms, in-house enterprise applications or systems of record, system-integration programs, or workflow automation5+ years directly managing software engineering teams, including hiring, performance management, and career developmentExperience managing teams in a startup, Series C through E, or similarly high-growth environmentExperience standing up a new team or function from the ground upExperience leading a migration from an off-the-shelf enterprise system to in-house softwareFamiliarity with PLM, MBSE, requirements/ALM, ERP, and/or manufacturing execution (MES) systems and how product data flows across engineering, supply chain, and manufacturingBackground in aerospace, defense, hardware, or another regulated, product-data-intensive environmentExperience with digital engineering / digital thread initiativesFamiliarity with infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD, and cloud platforms (e.g., AWS)Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent professional experienceAbility to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance