Senior Engineering Manager, Solutions Engineering

Location: Austin TX (Hybrid on-site)

Travel: 2540% during major engagement events; 15% in steady state

Clearance Requirement: U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain a security clearance required

NODA is a veteran-owned venture-backed defense technology company building the orchestration layer for autonomous unmanned systems. Our platform coordinates fleets of heterogeneous vehicles across air sea and land for defense and intelligence customers. We expect every hire to be mission-driven with strong agency.

NODAs Solutions Engineering function delivers our platform into customer environments and is responsible for getting the software onto customer hardware and into operational use. As customer programs scale we are hiring a dedicated engineering manager to lead this critical team. You will partner closely with Product Management Mission Leads Field Operations and engineering counterparts.

You will own the people delivery quality and hiring bar for Solutions Engineering. Youll manage a rapidly growing yet high-caliber team of Solution Engineers Senior Solution Engineers and Solution Architects across Austin and DC.

This is a hands-on EM role at a startup. Expect to read code sit in customer technical reviews and travel when delivery risk concentrates at an event.

Lead coach and performance-manage Solution Engineers and Architects across levels; own hiring promotions and the calibrated hiring bar.

Own engagement staffing and delivery quality across active customer programs.

Lead the Solutions Engineering team through the full deployment lifecycle: ConOps and deployment design field execution customer handoff After Action Review (AAR).

Maintain exceptional technical standards on all customer-facing deliverables: deployment runbooks ConOps documentation and post-engagement debriefs.

Partner with Product Management Mission Leads Field Operations Business Dev and engineering counterparts on cross-functional delivery.

Funnel customer signal back to Product Management and Core Engineering with prioritized specificity.

6 years of engineering experience including 3 years directly managing engineers.

Track record leading customer-facing or forward-deployed engineering teams in defense autonomy or comparable high-stakes B2B environments.

Strong technical credibility can read Python C or Rust and evaluate integration architecture decisions.

Excellent written communication.

U.S. citizenship with the ability to obtain a security clearance.

Background at leading defense tech companies or in the federal/defense arm of major tech companies.

Direct experience with autonomous vehicles or unmanned systems (UAS UGV USV UUV).

Prior DoD classified ITAR or CMMC-scoped delivery experience.

Has performance-managed senior engineers including at least one cleanly handled managed-out.

Active security clearance.

People manager not a senior IC with reports: your leverage is through the people you hire develop and hold to a bar.

Calibrated and in-context: feedback is specific timely and grounded in observed behavior not annual cycles or vague impressions.

Bar-raiser in hiring: willing to walk away from a fast hire; the teams long-term quality matters more than short-term headcount.

Composed under customer pressure: stays technical stays calm and stays in control of the narrative when an engagement gets hard.

Comfortable saying no: pushes back on BD Product and customers when commitments are at risk and does it in a way that preserves the relationship.

Our culture fosters collaboration respect and trust empowering passionate people to do their best work. We offer a competitive salary comprehensive benefits and opportunities for career addition to an opportunity to take part in an innovative collaborative and fast-growing business with a highly motivated and skilled team we also take pride in taking care of our employees. Here are just a few ways that we show our appreciation:

• We offer comprehensive medical dental and visions plans

• 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan to invest in your long-term retirement goals Company match

• Equity grants for new hires

• Unlimited PTO

• 11 Paid holidays

• Extremely generous company holiday calendar including a holiday hiatus in November & December.

• Generous Parental Leave

• Military Leave for annual training or service requirements

• FSA

• DCFSA

• HSA

• Professional Development Opportunities

• Access to One Medical

• Mental Health Resources: We provide free mental health resources 24/7 including therapy and more. Additional work-life services such as free legal and financial support are available to you as well.

Engineering Manager (L6) Senior Engineering Manager (L7) Principal Engineering Manager (L8) Director of Engineering (L9) Senior Director of Engineering (L10)

Export Control Compliance

To conform to U.S. government export control regulations including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR) you must be a U.S. citizen lawful permanent resident of the U.S. protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) or otherwise eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State or U.S. Department of Commerce.

Equal Opportunity Statement

NODA AI is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to fostering a diverse inclusive and respectful workplace and to maintaining equitable employment and hiring practices. We provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees and make all employment decisions without regard to race color religion sex (including pregnancy childbirth and related medical conditions) sexual orientation gender identity or expression national origin age disability genetic information protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal state or local law.

As a federal contractor NODA AI complies with all applicable equal employment opportunity and affirmative action requirements including Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA) as amended. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants and employees with disabilities throughout the recruiting hiring and employment process.

Consistent with applicable federal state and local laws qualified applicants with criminal histories will be considered for employment in a manner consistent with applicable fair chance and ban-the-box laws including the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance where applicable. We actively encourage qualified individuals of all backgrounds including women minorities protected veterans and individuals with disabilities to apply.

NODA AI is committed to fostering an inclusive supportive and accessible work environment for all applicants and employees. If you require accommodations or assistance during the application process please dont hesitate to reach out to us at or contact your recruiter so we can provide the support you need.

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Required Experience:

Manager