Product Manager - DroneStack

Applied Intuition•Sunnyvale, CA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Applied Intuition's DroneStack team builds autonomous software and hardware that enables swarms of unmanned aircraft to find, fix, track, target, and engage in contested and denied environments. Our technology — from the Acuity ISR+Strike autonomy stack to the Axle edge compute hardware — is deployed on real platforms with real operators, across multiple airframe vendors and mission sets. The team has proven the technology through successful field demonstrations and live deployments. Now the challenge shifts: we need to move from delivering bespoke solutions for individual programs to building products that scale across customers, platforms, and theaters. We're hiring a Product Manager to own strategy, research, and execution for DroneStack. You won't need to arrive as a drone or defense expert — what matters is that you're a fast, rigorous learner who can immerse yourself in a complex technical domain and emerge with clarity about what to build and why. You'll conduct primary research with military operators in the US and abroad, translate what you learn into product strategy, and work with a strong engineering team to ship products that give warfighters a decisive edge.

Requirements

5–7 years of product management experience across at least two meaningfully different environments (different industries, product types, company stages, or customer segments). We value breadth and adaptability over narrow specialization.
A track record of shipping products, not just features. You've owned a product end-to-end — from research and strategy through design, build, launch, and iteration. You've made the hard calls about what not to build.
Exceptional research instincts. You know how to learn a market from scratch: talking to users, studying workflows, reading doctrine, attending field exercises, and synthesizing what you find into actionable product direction. You've done this at least once in a domain that was new to you.
Comfort with deep technical systems. You don't need a background in autonomy, robotics, or aerospace — but you should have experience working on technically complex products (hardware + software, real-time systems, developer tools, infrastructure, etc.) and be energized by learning how things work at a systems level.
Strong design sensibility. You care about how products feel to use, not just what they do. You've collaborated closely with designers or driven UX decisions yourself, particularly for workflow-heavy or operations-focused tools.
Clear, structured communication. You can write a crisp product brief, present a strategy to senior leadership, and run a productive design review with engineers. You tailor your communication to the audience — whether that's a general officer or a software engineer.
BS/BA degree in a technical or analytical field (Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Economics, or similar). Advanced degrees are welcome but not required.
Must be a U.S. Citizen
Must hold or be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

Nice To Haves

Experience with defense or government customers, even outside of autonomy (understanding of acquisition cycles, program structures, or operational environments)
Experience working on products that span hardware and software
Prior work at an early-stage or high-growth company where you wore multiple hats
Exposure to international markets or customers
Experience founding a company or leading a 0-to-1 product initiative

Responsibilities

Own product strategy for DroneStack. Define the roadmap that transitions the team from program-driven deliveries to a scalable, multi-customer product line. Make hard prioritization calls across ISR, strike, hardware, and tooling.
Become the voice of the operator. Conduct primary user research — in the field, at bases, and with international partners — to deeply understand how operators plan, execute, and debrief autonomous missions. Travel up to 20% of the time, including internationally.
Drive the programs-to-products transition. Identify the patterns across current customer engagements and define the abstractions, configurations, and interfaces that turn one-off solutions into repeatable products.
Shape product design and experience. Work with engineering to design operator interfaces (mission control, mission planning, mission review) that are intuitive enough for non-technical users to operate without engineering support in the field.
Set the technical direction with engineering. Partner with the engineering manager and technical leads to balance near-term delivery commitments with long-term product architecture. You don't need to write the code, but you need to understand the system well enough to make informed tradeoffs.
Build and communicate a market thesis. Develop a point of view on where the autonomous drone market is heading — across DoD service branches, allied nations, and commercial applications — and position Applied Intuition to capture it.
Represent the product internally and externally. Be the connective tissue between DroneStack engineering, Applied Intuition's defense business development team, and customers. Present at demos, program reviews, and industry events.