Senior Manager, Solutions Engineering - National Security (Defense)

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors to first responders, soldiers in battlefield scenarios, and beyond.

About the Role:

Skydio is seeking an experienced Solutions Engineering leader to join our team as Senior Manager, Solutions Engineering for National Security, Defense. This role leads the team supporting the Department of War, United States Special Operations Command, and the Intelligence Community, with the work centred on upstream requirements development, evaluations and field trials, system integration, and unit-level enablement across Skydio's end-to-end UAS solutions.

This is a remote role. Travel of approximately 50%, including regular international travel, is required to support customer engagements, field activities, deployments, and company events.

This role reports to the Director, Solutions Engineering – National Security.

About the Team:

The National Security Solutions Engineering team is the technical arm of Skydio's defense go-to-market motion. We sit between the customer and the product: translating mission problems into requirements, proving capability in the field, and making sure Skydio's products are accredited, integrated, and flown at scale, including in contested environments where the network, the spectrum, and the GPS signal are all in question.

The team is measured on technical win rate, evaluation and field trial outcomes, program expansion, and the quality of the requirements we push back into the product organization.

Solutions Engineers are critical members of the Skydio organization and work closely with Account Executives, Engineering, and Product to support deal progression, customer confidence, successful deployments, and the long-term success of federal sUAS programs.

How You’ll Make an Impact:

Lead the team

• Hire, onboard, coach, and retain your team, with clear ownership and coverage across the agencies and components in your segment, and develop people beyond the seat they are in.

• Set the bar for technical quality — demos, trial plans, integration designs, RFI and RFP responses, and customer-facing documentation that hold up in front of operators, engineers, and program leadership.

• Own capacity across your segment. Decide where Solutions Engineering time goes, say no when it needs to be said, and make the tradeoffs visible to leadership.

• Set a sustainable operating rhythm for a team that travels hard. Manage deployment tempo deliberately so field presence does not come at the cost of retention.

Drive technical wins

• Own the technical strategy for pursuits across your accounts: evaluation and down-select strategy, proof of concept and field trial design, and the technical narrative that differentiates Skydio.

• Serve as the senior technical escalation point on critical pursuits, deployments, and customer issues. Jump in and work the problem yourself, and be in the field when it matters.

• Partner with Sales leadership on pipeline, forecast, and account planning, and on the land-and-expand motion that turns a pilot program into a program of record.

Own the defense problem set

• Shape requirements upstream. Get your team in front of program offices, capability development staffs, and operators early so solicitations reflect capability we actually have.

• Build the muscle to compete in exercises and operational assessments. Service and SOF selection decisions are frequently made in the field, under observation. Plan for that as the primary proving ground, not a follow-on step.

• Build and maintain team fluency in the accreditation path — ATO, impact levels for cloud hosting, NIPR and SIPR employment, cross-domain considerations — and in NDAA compliance, Blue UAS status, and the vehicles these customers buy through: programs of record, OTAs, SBIR Phase III, IDIQs, and unit-level O&M.

• Guide integration strategy with the systems these forces already fight with: TAK and its SOF variants, MANET and secure tactical radios, tactical C2 and fires applications, and service mission-planning environments.

• Own the airworthiness and airspace picture across service lines, including service flight clearances, shipboard considerations, BVLOS approvals, waivers, COAs, and range and installation approvals.

• Understand employment in contested and degraded conditions — EW, GPS-denied, comms-limited — well enough to design honest test plans and keep the team from overpromising.

Represent the customer inside Skydio

• Be the aggregated voice of the customer to Product and Engineering. Turn field observations into prioritized, defensible requirements rather than a list of one-off asks.

• Build the enablement content, reference architectures, and reusable technical assets that let the team scale, and maintain first-hand product knowledge through frequent hands-on use.

What Makes You a Good Fit:

• 5+ years of relevant technical experience, including time in a customer-facing technical role supporting defense customers.

• 5+ years of federal government or defense experience in a discipline relevant to UAS — operations, maintenance, ISR, test and evaluation, acquisition, or training.

• 1+ years leading a technical team, formally or as a technical lead with hiring and mentorship responsibility. First-time managers with a demonstrated record of leading and developing people in an operational environment will be considered.

• Demonstrated understanding of a defense acquisition process for technology, from requirements development through evaluation, award, and fielding.

• Technical depth in at least one core area: UAS platforms, RF and datalink systems, EO/IR and other sensor payloads, software integration and APIs, cloud and data architecture, or government IT security.

• Comfort operating inside a Sales organization, including owning a quota, deal strategy, and the judgment to know when to commit technical resources and when to decline.

• Excellent written and verbal communication. You can brief an operator, a program manager, and a general officer without changing the facts.

• Lead by example. Willing to do whatever is needed to get a customer situation resolved.

Nice to Have

• Direct experience supporting SOCOM or its components (NSWC, MARSOC, AFSOC, USASOC, JSOC), a Theater Special Operations Command, or Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or Space Force units.

• Prior military UAS operator, maintainer, or instructor certification.

• Experience with shipboard, small boat, or maritime UAS employment, including launch and recovery from a moving deck.

• Experience in contested or degraded environments — EW, GPS-denied, comms-limited — and with mission planning, CONOPS, and TTP development for small UAS.

• Hands-on experience with MANET radios and secure comms (TSM, TrellisWare, Silvus, Persistent Systems), and familiarity with counter-UAS and airspace deconfliction.

• Experience navigating an RMF package or ATO from the vendor side, and with OTAs, prototype agreements, or SBIR Phase III transitions.

• Familiarity with foreign disclosure, ITAR, and FMS processes.

• Working knowledge of Salesforce, Palantir, Databricks, or equivalents.

What Is Required

• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time, including regular international travel.

• Ability to lift up to 60 lbs unaided.

• Active Secret or Top Secret security clearance, or the ability to obtain one.

• Obtaining FAA Part 107 certification within the first 60 days of employment is strongly encouraged for all Skydio employees and required for certain positions.

Compensation: At Skydio, our compensation packages for regular, full-time employees include competitive base salaries, equity in the form of stock options, and comprehensive benefits packages. Compensation will vary based on factors, including skill level, proficiencies, transferable knowledge, and experience. Relocation assistance may also be provided for eligible roles. The annual base salary range for this position is $172,000 - $215,000* plus commission. Fundamentally, we believe that equity is the key to long-term financial growth, and we ensure all regular, full-time employees have the opportunity to significantly benefit from the company's success. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to enroll in the Company’s group health insurance plans. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to receive the following benefits: Paid vacation time, sick leave, holiday pay and 401K savings plan. This position and all associated benefits are subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws, as well as the Company’s policies and eligibility criteria.

*Compensation for certain positions may vary based on the position’s location.

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At Skydio we believe that diversity drives innovation. We have created a multidisciplinary environment that embraces the power of diverse perspectives to create elegant solutions for complex problems. We are committed to growing our network of people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local anti-discrimination laws.

For positions located in the United States of America, Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov/