Technical Program Manager - Defense Autonomy

Applied Intuition; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Intuition is hiring a technical program manager for defense autonomy programs. The role is customer-facing and execution-heavy, with ownership across scope, schedules, dependencies, risks, and internal delivery.

The listing is strongest for someone who can sit at the intersection of technical autonomy work and defense program expectations without losing the product thread. You will coordinate across engineering, product, and field-facing groups while maintaining program health reporting

Qualifications

• Technical program management experience in autonomy, robotics, defense, automotive, or related systems.
• Ability to work directly with demanding technical customers.
• Strong communication across engineering, product, leadership, and customer teams.
• Judgment to manage ambiguity, tradeoffs, and delivery risk.
• Willingness to work from Applied's Arlington-area office.

Responsibilities

• Run program execution for defense autonomy engagements.
• Convert customer priorities into clear milestones, scope, and internal ownership.
• Manage cross-team dependencies across engineering, product, and field-facing groups.
• Maintain program health reporting, risks, escalations, and decision records.
• Keep demos, releases, and customer commitments aligned.

Skills

Technical program management

Autonomy experience

Defense or robotics

Customer-facing communication

Job description

What the role actually is

Applied Intuition is hiring a technical program manager for defense autonomy programs. The role is customer-facing and execution-heavy, with ownership across scope, schedules, dependencies, risks, and internal delivery.

The listing is strongest for someone who can sit at the intersection of technical autonomy work and defense program expectations without losing the product thread.

What you would work on

• Run program execution for defense autonomy engagements
• Convert customer priorities into clear milestones, scope, and internal ownership
• Manage cross-team dependencies across engineering, product, and field-facing groups
• Maintain program health reporting, risks, escalations, and decision records
• Keep demos, releases, and customer commitments aligned

What they are asking for

• Technical program management experience in autonomy, robotics, defense, automotive, or related systems
• Ability to work directly with demanding technical customers
• Strong communication across engineering, product, leadership, and customer teams
• Judgment to manage ambiguity, tradeoffs, and delivery risk
• Willingness to work from Applied's Arlington-area office

Why this one is worth a look

Autonomy in defense is moving from demos into programs with real delivery pressure. This role is useful to track because it shows Applied investing in the connective tissue between customer missions, engineering execution, and repeatable autonomy product work.