Senior Manager, Mechanical Engineering - Drone
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 20, 2026. First seen by Alion on Oct 16, 2026. Applied Intuition scores B on the Alion truth index.
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 Mechanical Engineering Manager, Drone, you will lead and grow the team responsible for the mechanical design of our drone platforms, from airframe and structures through full aircraft integration. You will own the mechanical engineering roadmap for our uncrewed aircraft, hire and develop a team of mechanical 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 mechanical engineers responsible for the airframe, fuselage, wings or rotor arms, landing gear, and structural components of our drone platforms
Set technical direction on the tradeoffs between weight, strength, aerodynamics, flight time, and payload capacity that determine whether an aircraft flies well
Guide your team's integration of propulsion, batteries, avionics, and payloads into the airframe, including packaging, mounting, cooling, and cable routing
Oversee structural, thermal, and vibration analysis across the team, and use flight and test data to validate and improve designs
Drive a culture of rapid prototyping: build, assemble, and iterate on real hardware, and support flight testing and field operations alongside your team
Lead failure and crash investigations, drive root cause analysis, and turn lessons into design improvements across the team
Own design, analysis, and validation quality at the component, assembly, and fully integrated aircraft level
Champion design for manufacturability, repairability, and field serviceability across your team's work
Hire, mentor, and grow mechanical engineers, and manage their performance and career development
Partner cross-functionally with autonomy, avionics, electrical, software, and flight test leaders to ensure designs meet mission requirements
We're looking for someone who has:
BS/MS in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
12+ years of experience designing hardware and shipping products, ideally for drones, UAS, or aircraft
7+ years of experience leading and managing mechanical engineering teams
Hands-on experience designing flight vehicles or flight-critical structures, such as airframes, wings, fuselages, rotor arms, or landing gear
Strong understanding of what makes an aircraft fly: weight, structures, aerodynamic loads, stability, and propulsion integration
Experience designing lightweight structures, including composites, carbon fiber, and aerospace-grade metals
Experience with design for manufacturing across methods such as CNC machining, composite layup, sheet metal, and additive manufacturing
Proficiency in CAD, SolidWorks preferred, for 3D design and modification
Track record of hiring, developing, and retaining strong engineering talent
Nice to have:
Experience supporting flight test and field operations, including setting up devices under test and writing clear documentation for test, maintenance, safety, and team processes
Experience designing, drawing, and prototyping custom cable harnesses
Demonstrated experience in FEA/CAE (structural, thermal, vibration, and shock)
Hands-on experience shipping high-complexity hardware in both early-stage startup (0 to 1) and mass-production environments
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.
Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.
FOR US-BASED ROLES:Applied Intuition is committed to providing an accessible and inclusive application and interview experience to applicants who are disabled veterans and other applicants with disabilities or medical conditions. Reasonable accommodations are available, requesting an accommodation will not affect your candidacy in any way, and you are not required to disclose the nature of your disability or medical condition in order to make a request. If you require an accommodation please contact [email protected]. We will work with you!