Technical Lead Software Engineer

Who you are

• MS or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical field, OR 8+ years of professional experience developing intelligent agents or planning systems
• 8+ years of hands-on experience developing performant modern C++ (we use C++20), with 2+ years leading engineering teams or serving as a technical lead on complex software programs
• A track record of setting technical direction, driving architectural decisions, and delivering complex systems through a team, not just as an individual contributor
• Strong theoretical understanding and practical experience implementing algorithms for constraint satisfaction, scheduling, and optimization problems
• Deep procedural and object-oriented programming experience that employs clean code principles and good OOP design patterns, with the judgment to enforce them pragmatically across a codebase
• Experience developing in Docker and containerized development environments, and using Linux-based operating systems (e.g., RHEL, Ubuntu)
• Understanding of service-oriented architecture and message broker vs. data broker paradigms, and experience making system-level architectural tradeoffs
• Ability to translate complex mathematical concepts into clear technical documentation, and to communicate designs, tradeoffs, and status crisply to both engineers and non-technical stakeholders
• Experience mentoring engineers, running design and code reviews, and building healthy, high-performing team culture
• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Must be eligible for a U.S. SECRET clearance with Special Access Program (SAP) eligibility
• Prior work on defense, aerospace, or other safety-critical autonomy programs
• Experience representing engineering in customer or program reviews
• Experience with game theory for multi-agent coordination or negotiation protocols
• Familiarity with real-time optimization under hardware/edge constraints
• Background in Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) or defense applications
• 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 What the job involves
• Applied is seeking a Technical Team Lead with strong foundations in algorithmic optimization, multi-agent systems and all-around leadership skills. You'll lead the team tackling the most complex computational challenges in our real-time decision-making platform, helping set set the technical direction for advanced algorithms that push the boundaries of autonomous coordination and planning
• We're seeking a mission-driven senior technical leader for our Autonomous Behaviors and Agents engineering team, focused on next-generation human-machine teaming and real-time decision-making systems.
• You'll guide a team of engineers building intelligent agents that plan and execute missions using advanced reasoning, planning, and optimization algorithms, while remaining hands-on where it matters most.
• Our work spans real-time scenarios, heterogeneous platforms (air, space, land, surface, sub-surface), and software that integrates seamlessly with human operators. If you thrive on owning outcomes in fast-moving, mission-oriented environments and love building autonomy that helps our warfighters, this is your role
• Your leadership will shape our Axion and Acuity family of systems, enabling breakthrough capabilities in human-machine teaming across all domains. If you're passionate about translating cutting-edge algorithms into shipped, mission-critical capability and growing the engineers who build it, then this opportunity might be for you!
• Drive the technical vision, architecture, and roadmap for the Autonomous Behaviors and Agents team, and direct execution from concept through delivery
• Lead, mentor, and grow a team of engineers, driving design reviews, setting engineering standards, and raising the bar on code quality and algorithmic rigor
• Guide the design and implementation of multi-agent optimization algorithms for distributed decision-making and coordination problems
• Direct development of temporal logic frameworks and constraint-satisfaction algorithms for complex planning scenarios
• Partner with product, program, and customer-facing stakeholders to translate mission needs into technical priorities, scope, and delivery commitments
• Coordinate cross-team integration and de-risk dependencies across the Axion and Acuity system families Benefits
• Health Insurance: Applied covers 100% of the cost and offers medical, dental, vision, and life insurance
• 401(k) Match: 50% employer matching to help you save money for retirement
• Fitness Stipend: Our wellness program supports your health and fitness goals. We pay for your trainers, gym memberships, massages, and more!
• Learning Stipend: We invest in your learning and growth by reimbursing you for educational