Director, SLED Solutions Engineering

Description

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 seeking an experienced Solutions Engineering leader to join our team as Director, Solutions Engineering for SLED. This role owns the technical outcome for state and local government, education, and corrections across the United States and Canada. It is a leader of leaders role: you will build and run a multi-team organization through a year of significant growth, and the bar you set for hiring and technical quality is the one the whole vertical inherits.

This is a remote role. Travel of approximately 30% is required to support customer engagements, field activities, deployments, team onsites, and company events.

This role reports to the VP, Solutions Engineering.

The SLED Solutions Engineering team is the technical arm of Skydio's state and local go-to-market motion. We sit between the agency and the product: turning operational problems into program designs, proving capability in the field, and making sure Skydio's products are used, integrated, and flown at scale.

The team is measured on technical win rate, trial and proof of concept outcomes, program expansion, site assessment quality, and the requirements we push back into the product organization.

Solutions Engineers are critical members of the Skydio organization and work closely with Key Account Leaders, Engineering, and Product to support deal progression, customer confidence, successful deployments, and the long-term success of Public Safety sUAS programs. As Director you are the technical counterpart to the VP of SLED Sales, and you own the coverage model that pairs the two organizations together.

How You’ll Make an Impact:

Lead the leaders

Recruit, hire, and develop Senior Managers, and create the path that takes strong Solutions Engineers into their first management role.

Hold each manager to a segment outcome rather than an activity count, and coach them on coaching.

Scale the organization without losing the bar. Hiring velocity in the first half of the year is the single largest execution risk in the plan.

Own the operating rhythm of the vertical: forecast reviews, capacity decisions, and the escalation path when demand for technical resources exceeds supply.

Drive technical wins

Own the technical win across all of SLED, and own the coverage model that pairs Solutions Engineering to the sales organization seat for seat. Defend it, or revise it with evidence, each planning cycle.

Partner with the VP of SLED Sales as the technical counterpart on segmentation, territory design, and headcount, and bring a defensible position rather than a request.

Represent SLED in forecast, planning, and executive reviews, and bring technical risk forward early rather than at the end of the quarter.

Own the SLED problem set

Own site assessment quality as a performance measure. Solutions Engineers are the DRI for verifying a dock location before deployment, and the quality of the resulting installation reflects on the team.

Hold the bar on proofs of concept: structured deployments tied to an active opportunity with measurable operational value, not casual evaluations.

Guide integration and airspace strategy — CAD and dispatch, video and evidence management, streaming platforms, BVLOS approvals, waivers, COAs, and docked operations.

Maintain command of the public sector procurement path, including cooperative contracts, grant funded programs, and public sector buying cycles.

Represent the customer inside Skydio

Be the aggregated voice of the customer to Product and Engineering. Turn field observations into prioritized, defensible requirements rather than a list of one-off asks.

Build the enablement content, reference architectures, and reusable technical assets that let the team scale, and maintain first-hand product knowledge through frequent hands-on use.

What Makes You a Good Fit:

8+ years of relevant technical experience, including time in a customer-facing technical role.

2+ years leading leaders. A track record of managing managers, or of managing a team large enough to have required a second layer.

A record of building organizations through fast growth — hiring, onboarding, and retaining technical people at volume.

Strong understanding of drone technology, Public Safety sUAS operations, and regulatory compliance, including Drone as First Responder concepts of operation and dock based remote operations.

Working knowledge of Public Safety technologies, including CAD, VMS, and related software platforms, and the ability to lead integration discussions.

Fluency in the commercial side of the business: coverage models, forecast discipline, deal strategy, and the judgment to know when to commit technical resources and when to decline.

Experience with state and local government procurement, including cooperative contracts, grant funded programs, and public sector buying cycles.

Excellent written and verbal communication. You can brief an operator, a program manager, and a senior executive without changing the facts.

Lead by example. Willing to do whatever is needed to get a customer situation resolved.

Requirements

• Prior public safety service as a sworn officer, firefighter, or agency UAS program lead.
• Experience standing up a Drone as First Responder program from waiver through go-live, and with dock-based, remote, and BVLOS operations at scale.
• Familiarity with grant funding pathways and cooperative purchasing vehicles used by state and local agencies.
• Working knowledge of Salesforce, Palantir, Databricks, or equivalents.
• Track record of building and scaling a technical team through a period of rapid growth.
• What Is Required
• Ability to travel approximately 30% of the time.
• Ability to lift up to 60 lbs unaided.
• Obtaining FAA Part 107 certification within the first 60 days of employment is strongly encouraged for all Skydio employees and required for certain positions.
• 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 $196,000 - $245,000. 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.
• LI-AY1
• 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.