Technical Program Manager, Defense OS

Applied Intuition•Sunnyvale, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Applied Intuition is seeking a Technical Program Manager to lead programs adapting its software-defined vehicle platform for naval warships. The role owns plans for bringing a production-proven vehicle operating system, middleware, and tooling stack into shipboard environments, coordinating Applied engineering teams with Navy program offices, shipbuilders, and integration partners. It combines commercial software delivery with defense acquisition and requires technical engagement with subject matter experts and customers to deliver capabilities to ships and sailors. The position defines program plans and release strategies, translates shipboard requirements into engineering work, and drives security, compliance, integration, and testing activities through shipboard installation. It serves as a key customer contact, aligns technical roadmaps across organizations, and drives decisions to resolve technical, schedule, and contractual issues. Applied Intuition expects full-time employees primarily to work from an Applied office five days per week, while allowing occasional remote work and schedule flexibility. Travel to shipyards, Navy facilities, and customer sites may be required.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
At least 5 years of technical program management experience for complex software or software-intensive hardware systems.
Proven experience delivering embedded, vehicle, or platform software programs; software-defined vehicles, real-time systems, or safety-critical software experience is ideal.
Experience working directly with defense customers or on Department of Defense programs, and familiarity with government program funding, contracting, and reviews.
Technical depth to engage credibly with engineers on operating systems, middleware, networking, and software release processes.
Ability to execute thoughtfully and efficiently, with a willingness to take on tasks of any size.
Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills, including with senior government and industry stakeholders.
Ability to manage multiple programs and priorities in a fast-paced environment.
Ability to travel as needed, including to shipyards, Navy facilities, and customer sites.
Must be a U.S. citizen and hold or be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Active Secret security clearance or higher.
Experience with Navy organizations or programs such as NAVSEA, PEO Ships, PEO IWS, or NAVWAR, or experience in shipbuilding and ship systems integration.
Familiarity with the DoD Software Acquisition Pathway, agile and DevSecOps approaches in government programs, and modular open systems approaches (MOSA).
Understanding of the Risk Management Framework (RMF) and the authority-to-operate process, including continuous ATO.
Familiarity with standards such as ISO 26262, ASPICE, and MIL-STD-882.
Prior military service, particularly in a shipboard or engineering role.
Prior experience in a startup environment, demonstrating adaptability and a can-do attitude.
Experience with project management tools such as JIRA.

Responsibilities

Define program milestones and manage timelines, budgets, and deliverables for programs adapting the software-defined vehicle platform to naval vessels.
Monitor program progress, mitigate risks, and ensure quality.
Develop and execute release plans for software and hardware components, coordinating teams across vehicle operating systems, middleware, networking, security, and tooling.
Translate shipboard requirements—including scale, redundancy, environmental constraints, long service life, and integration with existing ship systems—into technical work for engineering teams.
Plan and drive the path to authority to operate, incorporating security and compliance evidence into delivery through DevSecOps and continuous ATO.
Coordinate integration and test events with shipbuilders, Navy labs, and third-party system vendors, from lab and land-based test sites through shipboard installation.
Serve as a key point of contact for government and industry customers, understand requirements, manage expectations, and provide regular updates.
Align technical roadmaps across internal and external teams, determining where commercial automotive practices can be adopted and where naval needs require new work.
Drive problem-solving and decisions across teams to resolve technical, schedule, and contractual issues.