Senior Engineering Manager, Infrastructure
San Mateo, California, United States - Full-time
Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors to first responders, soldiers in battlefield scenarios, and beyond.
About the role: Skydio is building a secure, globally distributed drone platform that delivers critical capabilities to enterprise and government customers around the world. Our customers rely on Skydio in situations where every second counts, making the availability, security, and responsiveness of our platform mission-critical.
Because our customers operate in highly regulated environments, our infrastructure must also meet stringent requirements around security, privacy, compliance, and data sovereignty across multiple regions and deployment models.
We are seeking an experienced Engineering Manager to grow and lead our Software Infrastructure Team. This team owns the foundational infrastructure and platform systems that power Skydio Cloud. The ideal candidate enjoys both leading high-performing teams and remaining actively involved in technical architecture and execution.
The team’s goals reach across several areas of focus, which include:
Site-Reliability Engineering: designing, deploying, and operating highly available infrastructure across multiple cloud providers and regions.
Observability: building the tooling, visibility, and operational practices that enable engineering teams to operate autonomously.
Software Deployment Lifecycle: improve the speed at which engineers can go from idea to production, without sacrificing availability and security.
Cloud-to-Drone Infrastructure: build reliable systems that enable drones to communicate with the cloud and transfer mission-critical data.
How you'll make an impact:
Lead the architecture and operation of Skydio’s core AWS and Kubernetes infrastructure, including workload security, deployment systems, scaling, and platform reliability.
Raise the bar on infrastructure security and operational excellence to ensure Skydio remains a trusted platform for enterprise and government customers.
Hire, mentor, and grow a high-performing infrastructure engineering team.
Engage directly with customers and security stakeholders to explain Skydio’s security posture, infrastructure architecture, and operational practices.
Participate in incident response and operational leadership alongside the infrastructure team, helping coordinate and drive resolution during production events.
Collaborate closely with engineering leadership across the Cloud organization to evolve platform capabilities that support rapid product development.
Own and evolve the self-hosted variant of Skydio Cloud, enabling customers to deploy and operate the platform within their own environments.
What makes you a good fit:
Proven ability to lead highly technical teams while remaining effective in hands-on architectural and operational discussions.
Experience partnering with security, compliance, and customer-facing teams in regulated environments.
Strong communication skills with the ability to engage directly with enterprise and government customers.
Deep experience architecting and operating Kubernetes platforms on AWS and/or GCP.
Strong expertise in observability, incident response, and performance analysis across distributed systems and databases.
Comfortable operating in fast-moving environments with high ownership and accountability.
Comfortable leveraging AI-assisted development workflows to improve engineering velocity, infrastructure operations, and software quality.
Compensation:
At Skydio, our compensation packages for regular, full-time employees include competitive base salaries, equity in the form of stock options, and comprehensive benefits packages. Compensation will vary based on factors, including skill level, proficiencies, transferable knowledge, and experience. Relocation assistance may also be provided for eligible roles. The annual base salary range for this position is $200,000-$275,000*. Fundamentally, we believe that equity is the key to long-term financial growth, and we ensure all regular, full-time employees have the opportunity to significantly benefit from the company's success. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to enroll in the Company’s group health insurance plans. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to receive the following benefits: Paid vacation time, sick leave, holiday pay and 401K savings plan. This position and all associated benefits are subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws, as well as the Company’s policies and eligibility criteria.
*Compensation for certain positions may vary based on the position’s location.
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At Skydio we believe that diversity drives innovation. We have created a multidisciplinary environment that embraces the power of diverse perspectives to create elegant solutions for complex problems. We are committed to growing our network of people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local anti-discrimination laws.
For positions located in the United States of America, Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov/