Recruiting Operations Manager

ABOUT APPLIED INTUITION 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 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. ABOUT THE TEAM Applied Intuition is building the toolchain for autonomy across air, land, sea, space and spectrum. The Axion product family is a modular, all-domain autonomy toolchain: simulation (Axion Sim), hardware/software integration (Axion Integrate), MLOps for ATR models (Axion MLOps), mission control UIs (Axion Mission Control), etc.  The Axion team is mission-critical: enabling development, test, integration and deployment of collaborative autonomous systems in contested environments. You’ll be working at the intersection of high-fidelity simulation, autonomy software, hardware platforms, and human-machine interfaces. ABOUT THE ROLE As an Engineering Manager on the Axion team, you will lead a cross-functional engineering group (software, simulation, integration, UI/UX) to deliver high-impact autonomy toolchain capabilities. You will drive engineering execution, mentor and grow a team of engineers, define technical roadmaps, hold the bar on quality, and collaborate closely with product, operations, hardware/integration teams, and defense customers. Your work will influence the architecture, scalability, performance, and field-readiness of Axion products. AT APPLIED INTUITION, YOU WILL: * Lead, coach, and grow a team of engineers (individual contributors, leads) working on one or more Axion modules (e.g., simulation engine, mission-control UI, hardware integration pipeline) * Define and own the technical roadmap for your area: translate product vision into deliverables, ensure alignment with overall Axion strategy * Drive software engineering best practices: architecture design, code reviews, CI/CD, test automation, performance/scalability, quality metrics * Manage project execution: planning sprints/releases, monitoring progress, identifying risks/blockers, ensuring delivery of milestones on time and to quality * Work with product management and UX/design to refine requirements, make trade-offs, and ensure that the engineering roadmap maps to user/customer value and field readiness * Collaborate with hardware/integration and operations teams to ensure seamless delivery of autonomy toolchain across simulation, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), live platforms * Ensure the team is set up for high-impact: recruiting top talent, setting clear goals, fostering a culture of ownership, iteration, and innovation * Communicate status, risk, and outcomes to senior leadership; escalate as needed; provide engineering input for business decisions * Stay abreast of emerging technologies: simulation, autonomy, AI, real-time systems, human-machine interfaces, and help the team apply them WE’RE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS: * Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (advanced degree preferred) * Proven experience (e.g., 3 – 5+ years) in software engineering roles with increasing responsibility, and at least 1 – 2 years in a leadership role (team lead, manager) delivering complex systems * Strong technical background: architecture, design, implementation and delivery of large-scale, high-performance software systems (ideally simulation, real-time, autonomy, robotics, or hardware integration) * Experience managing full software development lifecycle: requirements, design, implementation, testing, deployment, maintenance * Experience in mentoring and growing engineering teams: recruiting, performance management, career development, building high-performing teams * Excellent collaboration and communication skills: able to work cross-functionally with product, UX/design, hardware/integration, operations, senior leadership * Comfort in a fast-paced, highly-ambiguous environment; ability to make thoughtful trade-offs between speed, quality, and scalability * US citizenship. You must already have or be eligible to receive an active US Top Secret security clearance upon onboarding to this role NICE TO HAVE: * Experience in autonomy, robotics, simulation or unmanned systems (air/land/sea) and tool-chain development * Familiarity with multi-domain systems (e.g., air/land/sea/spectrum) and heterogeneous fleets/platforms * Familiarity with real-time systems, sensor fusion, hardware/software integration, HIL/SIL testing, cloud infrastructure, large datasets * Demonstrated ability to lead architecture/design of modular, scalable software systems with high performance constraints Compensation at Applied Intuition for eligible roles includes base salary, equity, and benefits. Base salary is a single component of the total compensation package, which may also include equity in the form of options and/or restricted stock units, comprehensive health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage, 401k retirement benefits with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off. Note that benefits are subject to change and may vary based on jurisdiction of employment. Applied Intuition pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum intended target base salary for new hire salaries for the position. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, interview performance, and the level and scope of the position. Please reference the job posting’s subtitle for where this position will be located. For pay transparency purposes, the base salary range for this full-time position in the location listed is: $204,000 - $343,000 USD annually. 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.

ABOUT APPLIED INTUITION 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 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. ABOUT THE ROLE Applied Intuition is looking for a Recruiting Programs Lead to own two distinct but connected programs: our early career talent programs and our contingent workforce program. You will build the structure, compliance rigor, and scalability behind how we hire and manage talent outside the traditional full-time pipeline — from the students and new grads who become future full-time hires, to the contractors, temps, and agency workers who help the business flex and scale. This role requires real depth in both areas, not just program management generalist skills: you should already know how to run a university relations and internship pipeline, and you should already know the compliance landscape around contingent labor, particularly in California. You will also be a trusted advisor to stakeholders across the business — someone who can defend a process because it is the right process, not simply implement whatever is asked. AT APPLIED INTUITION, YOU WILL: * Own and scale our early career talent program, including university relations, new grad hiring, and internship programs, building consistent, high-quality experiences across teams and locations * Manage the full early career recruiting lifecycle — from campus and university partnerships through offer and onboarding handoff — treating it as a cohesive, repeatable program * Build and manage our contingent worker program end to end, including vendor and staffing agency management, to ensure consistent, compliant, high-quality engagements across the business. * Bring working knowledge of the compliance landscape around contingent labor in California, including how different worker classifications (contractors, temp, temp-to-hire, and other contingent types) need to be structured and managed to stay compliant * Manage contingent talent through a Vendor Management System (VMS), including requisitions, worker tracking, and spend visibility * Bring or build knowledge of other worker types and how to work with Employers of Record (EORs), extending the contingent workforce model beyond the U.S. as needed * Partner cross-functionally with Legal, Finance, internal applications, and Engineering teams to ensure early career and contingent programs align with business objectives and regulatory requirements * Analyze program data and metrics — time-to-fill, pipeline health, contingent workforce spend and compliance risk — to identify trends, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement * Drive automation across both programs (requisition approvals, candidate communications, vendor onboarding, training/compliance tracking, reporting) to reduce manual work and increase accuracy WE'RE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS: * Bachelor’s degree and 6+ years of experience in recruiting operations and other teams including talent acquisition, or people program management roles with demonstrated stakeholder management experience * Proven track record of building and scaling an early career talent program, including university relations, new grad hiring, and internship programs * Proven success building and managing a contingent worker program, including vendor/staffing agency management and day-to-day use of a VMS * Solid understanding of employment law and compliance requirements as they relate to contingent workforce management, particularly in California * Strong program management background with the ability to design and optimize processes, integrate feedback, and communicate outcomes across all levels * Strong analytical mindset with experience using recruiting and workforce data to drive program improvements and decision-makin NICE TO HAVE: * Experience with VMS platforms; Flextracks is preferred * Knowledge of other contingent worker types and experience working with Employers of Record (EORs) * Experience in high-growth technology companies, particularly in automotive or autonomous vehicle industries * Direct involvement in scaling recruiting or talent operations from early-stage startups to larger organizational structures * Experience with ATS platforms that translate data to insights and actions * Background in change management or organizational development 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.