Head of Defense Engineering (South Korea)

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 Seoul

Applied Intuition entered the Korean market in 2020. The team has rapidly grown over the past few years and established strategic relationships with major Korean automotive OEM customers. Based in Gangnam, the Seoul site consists of more than 15 employees who previously come from LG, Ansys, Unity, Seoul Robotics, and other renowned companies. 

About the Role

We are seeking an Engineering Manager to lead our Korea-based defense engineering team, delivering the simulation and AI tooling that powers autonomous defense systems. You will set technical direction, grow a high-performing team, and ensure reliable delivery of Applied Intuition's defense product suite for Korean and global defense customers.

You will operate as the Korea-based engineering leader for Applied's defense tooling, partnering daily with U.S. product and engineering leadership while leading local engineers on-site in Seoul. You bring deep technical credibility in autonomy, simulation, or related domains, and the leadership maturity to grow engineers, set direction, and deliver under defense-grade constraints.ow to translate that credibility into customer trust, pipeline, and signed contracts. 

Key Responsibilities

• Lead, grow, and mentor a team of software engineers in Seoul; own hiring, onboarding, performance management, and career development.

• Build a high-performing team culture that combines mission focus with engineering rigor.

• Own the Korea team's roadmap in close partnership with U.S. product and engineering leadership; translate priorities into executable plans and deliver on schedule.

• Operate the team as a fully integrated extension of the global engineering organization.

• Stay close to the code: drive architecture and design reviews, and make sound tradeoff decisions on system design for defense-grade workloads.

• Champion engineering best practices: CI/CD, testing, code review, and documentation.

• Partner with U.S. PMs, engineering leads, and adjacent Korea functions on shared deliverables.

• Represent the engineering team in technical customer discussions when needed.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field.

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 3 years in an engineering management or team lead role managing a team of 3+ engineers.

• Proven track record of delivering complex software products on schedule in a fast-paced, customer-oriented environment.

• Hands-on technical background in one or more of: autonomy systems, simulation, AI/ML infrastructure, robotics, unmanned systems, embedded systems, or defense-grade software.

• Strong proficiency in Python, C++, or similar; familiarity with AI/ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow) and their application in autonomous or perception systems.

• Demonstrated ability to hire, grow, and retain engineers in a competitive market.

• Experience operating in an agile, high-frequency release cycle with strong engineering discipline (CI/CD, testing, code review).

• Excellent English communication skills for daily collaboration with the U.S. team; native-level Korean for leading a Korea-based team.

• Proven ability to balance hands-on technical depth with people leadership — credible with engineers, effective with cross-functional partners.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading engineering teams that built simulation platforms, ML training infrastructure, or developer tooling for robotics, autonomy, or defense.

• Familiarity with reinforcement learning frameworks and/or simulation engines.

• Experience delivering software in closed-network / air-gapped deployment environments common in defense.

• Familiarity with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing workflows and software-hardware integration.

• Domain familiarity with UAVs, unmanned systems, ATR, drone swarming, path planning, or aerospace control systems — as a context for tool design, not as an IC requirement.

• Experience working in a U.S.-headquartered technology company with a Korea or APAC presence.

• Prior experience managing engineers operating under security clearance, CUI, or government compliance regimes.

Why Join Us?

• Rare opportunity to own both the engineering and commercial dimensions of a high-growth defense business in one of the world's most strategic markets.

• Work on cutting-edge autonomy technology that has real-world mission impact, deployed by leading defense organizations globally.

• Lead a talented local engineering team while collaborating daily with world-class technical teams in the US.

• Operate with significant autonomy and direct access to senior leadership — your decisions shape the Korea defense strategy.

• Competitive compensation, equity, and benefits package commensurate with the seniority and scope of the role.

Benefits and Perks: 

• Lunch and dinner allowance

• Equity (RSU) offering

• English / Korean language allowance

• Fitness & Learning allowance 

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.