Senior Manager, Electrical Engineering - Drone

Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo. Learn more at applied.co .

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that full-time employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments. This in-office expectation does not apply to contractor positions

About the role

As the senior Electrical Engineering Manager, Drone, you will lead and grow the team responsible for the electrical design of our drone platforms, from power and avionics architecture through full aircraft integration. You will own the electrical engineering roadmap for our uncrewed aircraft, hire and develop a team of electrical engineers, and work hands-on with your team through the full product design lifecycle, from concept and prototype through flight test and production.

At Applied Intuition, you will:

• Build and lead a team of electrical engineers responsible for the power distribution, avionics, sensor, and wiring/harness systems of our drone platforms

• Guide your team’s design of electrical schematics incorporating SoCs/MCUs, power electronics (SMPS, linear regulation), memory components, and high & low speed digital interfaces (UART, SPI, I2C, USB, PCIe, Ethernet, CAN, etc.)

• Oversee PCB layout and design, ensuring designs meet DFx standards and adhere to performance, cost, mechanical, thermal, and reliability constraints

• Guide design of wire harnesses, cable routing, and electrical distribution systems, ensuring ease of assembly, serviceability, and robust functionality

• Own design, analysis, and validation quality at the component, assembly, and fully integrated aircraft level, including bench, environmental, and flight test

• Champion design for manufacturability, repairability, and field serviceability across your team’s work, and engage with PCB/PCBA vendors and suppliers

• Hire, mentor, and grow electrical engineers, and manage their performance and career development

• Partner cross-functionally with autonomy, mechanical, avionics, software, and flight test leaders to ensure designs meet mission requirements

We're looking for someone who has:

• BS/MS in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field

• 12+ years of experience designing electrical hardware and shipping products, ideally for drones, UAS, or aircraft

• 7+ years of experience leading and managing electrical engineering teams

• Hands-on hardware design experience with a strong grasp of analog and power design, digital design, and interfaces, including PCIe, Ethernet, DDR, I2C, SPI, UART, and CAN

• Proficiency in schematic capture and PCB layout

• Experience with lab tools such as bench power supplies, multimeters, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and network analyzers

• In-depth understanding of PCB manufacturing, product delivery, and experience in testing, validation, and troubleshooting of electrical systems

• Track record of hiring, developing, and retaining strong engineering talent

Nice to have:

• Prior experience designing and building prototype vehicles or uncrewed aircraft

• Experience with high-volume production of hardware products

• Prior experience building real-time hardware systems with safety constraints

• Experience with Altium Designer

• Experience designing circuits that drive cameras and/or displays

• Hands-on experience shipping high-complexity hardware in both early-stage startup (0 to 1) and mass-production environments

• Experience with high power systems and batteries

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.