Head of Engineering, Defense OS

Applied Intuition • Sunnyvale, CA

3d • $250,000 - $350,000 • Onsite

About The Position

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 Director 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.

Requirements

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

Nice To Haves

• 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.

Responsibilities

• 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, escalate clearly, and provide engineering input into program and business decisions.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed