Software Engineering Manager, Forward Deployed
Posted 4 days ago
The role in short
Manages Air's forward-deployed data scientists and AI engineers delivering agentic AI and ML readiness solutions to U.S. defense customers.
Company Description
Air is the leader in Enterprise Readiness. Our mission is to establish readiness as a real-time condition that is continuously achieved. Today, a dangerous Readiness Gap exists between what the front line needs and what is delivered. Our AI-native platform, Air Enterprise Readiness, aligns development, production, delivery, and sustainment into one coordinated execution system for government agencies and industrial suppliers. By revealing true capacity, exposing real constraints, coordinating resources, and executing at the speed of operational demands, the front line gets what it needs to succeed.
Job Description
We are looking for a dynamic and experienced Data Science Manager to join our talented team as a Forward Deployed Data Science (FDDS) Manager at Air. Air is a leading technology company dedicated to supporting the defense and intelligence communities with cutting-edge software solutions. As an FDDS Manager, you will be pivotal in shaping and driving our data science and applied AI solutions to deliver tangible readiness outcomes for our customers.
As an FDDS Manager at Air, you will lead and grow a team of skilled Forward Deployed Data Scientists (FDDSs), working on both agentic AI and classical data science methods, and ensuring readiness solutions are delivered to our customers through Air’s Enterprise Readiness platform. You will oversee Agile ceremonies, set coding and testing standards, and ensure the quality of deliverables. Your leadership will be essential in translating business requirements into technical specifications, building scalable technology, and promoting innovation and efficiency within the team.
Doing this job well requires customer obsession, a strong need to solve problems, a passion for building high-functioning teams and an ability to deliver under pressure and in ambiguous environments.
This role is a full-time position located out of our office in Pittsburgh, PA, Arlington, VA, or San Francisco, CA.
This role may require up to 25% travel
Scope of Responsibilities
- Collaborate with the Go-To-Market and Forward Deployed Engineering teams to ensure appropriate support and delivery for government customers.
- Lead and mentor a team of Forward Deployed Data Scientists and AI Engineers to deliver readiness outcomes for our customers through Air’s Enterprise Readiness platform.
- Direct complex AI initiatives for U.S. Government clients, covering agentic AI, classical machine learning and statistical modeling approaches. Applications focus on critical defense sectors (Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force) for fleet readiness (MRO), predictive maintenance, supply chain analysis and other use cases.
- Establish coding, testing, and AI coding best practices and standards for engineers, driving excellence in software development.
- Oversee AI development for practical use cases in deployment by nurturing the AI team culture, defining AI/ML tool usage, and applying scientific methods.
- Oversee the quality of data scientists' deliverables, including model delivery, coding, evaluation, and testing, to maintain high standards of science and software.
- Collaborate closely with client stakeholders and Air’s delivery teams to translate business requirements into technical specifications.
- Continuously seek innovation and process improvement opportunities, finding efficiencies in all assigned tasks to drive the team's success.
- Work with AI platform teams to ensure generalization of AI cases built for particular clients into platform and product features.
- Collaborate closely with Air's product team ensuring a feedback loop from the edge to the core platform
- Work collaboratively with data engineers, software engineers, QA engineers, and DevOps engineers to enhance our platform's overall quality and performance.
Qualifications
- U.S. Citizenship is required
Required Skills:
- 5+ years of external or internal customer-facing, complex, and large-scale project management experience.
- 5+ years of delivering data science solutions into production.
- 2+ years of experience leading and managing a team of data scientists and/or machine learning engineers and/or AI engineers developing new AI systems and deploying them into production.
- Strong technical background with expertise in developing AI/ML solutions for a wide variety of problems.
- Deep understanding of data assets and their applicability to AI/ML model development.
- Proven ability to continuously evaluate and adopt new AI tools and methods to improve delivery speed and quality.
- Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to become a subject matter expert (SME) in the National Security domain and communicate complex technical concepts to both internal and external stakeholders.
- Demonstrated success in recruiting, training, coaching, and mentoring high-performing technical teams.
- Strong problem-solving skills and a commitment to continuous innovation and process improvement.
- Proven track record of translating complex industrial challenges into AI/ML solutions that drive measurable impact.
- Experience with agile software development methodologies.
Desired Skills:
- Current possession of a U.S. security clearance, or the ability to obtain one with our sponsorship.
- Experience in or exposure to the nuances of a startup or other entrepreneurial environment.
- Experience and interest in National Security.
- Experience collaborating with Product, Engineering, Engagement departments and clients to define and execute an AI/ML roadmap.
- Experience working on agile/scrum teams.
- Familiarity with big data frameworks (e.g., HDFS, Spark) and AWS.
- Practical understanding of LLMs and Agentic AI solutions.
We firmly believe that past performance is the best indicator of future performance. If you thrive while building solutions to complex problems, are a self-starter, and are passionate about making an impact in global security, we’re eager to hear from you.
Air is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans status or any other characteristic protected by law.
Prep for this interview
4 questions likely to come up at Air, each matched to a line in this posting.
- 1Discovery and scoping
They wrote: “Collaborate closely with client stakeholders and Air’s delivery teams to translate business requirements into technical specifications.”
Tell me about a time the customer asked for one thing but needed another.
How to answer
Why they ask: Good FDEs spot when a request is a guess at a solution. They want proof you can redirect a customer without losing their trust.
- What they asked for, and the detail that made you doubt it
- How you tested the doubt (shadowed users, looked at logs, ran a quick prototype)
- How you made the case to the customer
- What shipped and what changed for them
Tip: Pick a story where you checked your hunch with data or users before pushing back.
- 2LLMs, RAG and agents
They wrote: “Practical understanding of LLMs and Agentic AI solutions.”
When would you use an agent that takes actions, and how do you keep it safe?
How to answer
Why they ask: Agent work is growing fast in FDE postings. Senior candidates are expected to know where agents fail.
- Use agents for multi-step tasks with clear success checks; avoid them where one wrong action is costly
- Give the agent narrow tools and permissions, not broad access
- Require human approval for risky actions
- Log every step so the customer can audit it
Tip: Start from the cost of a wrong action. Limit what the agent can do, and log everything.
- 3Cloud, deployment and security
They wrote: “Current possession of a U.S. security clearance, or the ability to obtain one with our sponsorship.”
The customer's security team sends a 200-question review. How do you handle it?
How to answer
Why they ask: Security reviews often block deals. FDEs help get through them.
- Start from your company's standard answers (SOC 2 report, past reviews)
- Answer clearly; don't oversell
- Bring in your security team for anything you're unsure of
- Keep the new answers for the next customer
Tip: Reuse past answers, flag honest gaps, and offer a call for the hard questions.
- 4Ownership and working with customers
They wrote: “Doing this job well requires customer obsession, a strong need to solve problems, a passion for building high-functioning teams and an ability to deliver under pressure and in ambiguous environments.”
Tell me about a project where the requirements kept changing. What did you do?
How to answer
Why they ask: Ambiguity is the norm. They want proof you can keep moving without a clear spec.
- The project and why requirements kept moving
- What you did to pin them down (short demos, written decisions)
- The trade-offs you made to keep shipping
- The result, with a number if you have one
Tip: Show how you reduced the change, beyond how you coped with it.
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