Director, Autonomy
Saab
full-time
Posted on:
Location Type: Hybrid
Location: San Diego • California • United States
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Salary
💰 $237,000 - $319,900 per year
Job Level
About the role
- Define and evolve Skapa’s enterprise autonomy strategy across multi-domain unmanned systems.
- Establish the technical vision, architectural standards, and guiding principles for autonomy development, ensuring consistency across platforms and programs.
- Build, lead, and scale a high-performing autonomy organization, including technical leaders and managers.
- Serve as the senior autonomy advisor to executive leadership, providing insight on capability gaps, technology risk, investment direction, and strategic positioning.
- Shape autonomy investment priorities and portfolio direction across IRAD and strategic customer-funded efforts.
- Provide strategic technical guidance to major autonomy initiatives, ensuring alignment with enterprise architecture and long-term capability objectives.
- Represent Skapa’s autonomy capabilities to customers, partners, and strategic stakeholders through technical briefings, reviews, and thought leadership engagements.
- Support growth efforts through technical positioning, customer engagement, and shaping of differentiated autonomy strategies for priority pursuits.
- Promote best-in-class engineering practices for autonomy software, simulation, integration, and validation — without assuming direct program execution ownership.
Requirements
- MS or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, Applied Mathematics, Physics, Software Engineering, or related technical discipline.
- 12+ years of experience in autonomy, AI/ML, robotics, or advanced technology development, including leadership of complex technical teams and senior technical leaders.
- Demonstrated experience defining enterprise-level technical strategy and architecture across multiple concurrent programs or initiatives.
- Deep understanding of autonomy architectures, including multi-agent systems, perception and sensor fusion, decision-making, and control.
- Proven ability to translate mission and business objectives into executable autonomy roadmaps and investment priorities.
- Experience guiding advanced autonomy capabilities from research maturity through integration and operational application.
- Working knowledge of AI/ML development pipelines, simulation-based development, and autonomy test & evaluation methodologies.
- Strong enterprise systems thinking across heterogeneous unmanned platforms.
- Experience engaging directly with U.S. DoD customers, research organizations, and strategic partners.
- Effective executive communicator capable of influencing senior leadership and representing autonomy capabilities externally.
- Must hold or be able to obtain a U.S. DoD security clearance and be a U.S. Citizen.
- Willingness to travel up to 50% in support of customer engagements and demonstrations.
Benefits
- Medical, vision, and dental insurance for employees and dependents
- Generous paid time off, including 8 designated holidays
- 401(k) with employer contributions
- Tuition assistance and student loan assistance
- Wellness and employee assistance resources
- Employee stock purchase opportunities
- Short-term and long-term disability coverage
Applicant Tracking System Keywords
Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.
Hard Skills & Tools
autonomy developmentAI/MLroboticsenterprise-level technical strategyautonomy architecturesmulti-agent systemsperception and sensor fusiondecision-makingcontrolsimulation-based development
Soft Skills
leadershipexecutive communicationinfluencing senior leadershipstrategic guidancecustomer engagementtechnical positioningteam buildingorganizational developmentthought leadershipbest engineering practices
Certifications
MS in Electrical EngineeringPhD in Computer ScienceU.S. DoD security clearance