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Agent guide: [/agents.md](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/agents.md). --- # Senior Engineering Manager, Systems - **Company:** Noda AI Inc. - **Location:** Austin, TX, United States - **Experience:** Expert - **Contract:** Contract - **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Systems Engineering, Software Debugging, Linux on Embedded Systems, Middleware, Firmware, Networking Basics, Real-Time Operating Systems, Requirements Traceability, Mttr, Reliability of Systems, Bare Metal, Performance Monitor - **Published:** July 12, 2026 - **Apply:** https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=ef8b593a2f6cc274 ## About the Role * 8+ years of engineering experience, with substantial hands-on time debugging distributed, real-time, or multi-domain systems in production * 2+ years managing engineers, ideally across more than one technical domain * A real track record as an expert debugger, the person teams bring the hardest, most ambiguous cross-system issues to, regardless of layer * Able to think both ways: horizontal breadth across software, RF, networking, firmware, and hardware, and vertical depth to root-cause a single hard failure all the way down when breadth alone won't solve it * Experience owning system health, performance monitoring, or release-readiness processes * Working knowledge of networking fundamentals and real-time or low-latency middleware * Comfortable with hardware bench diagnostics (multimeter, oscilloscope) and reading firmware-level behavior well enough to know when to loop in a specialist * Working understanding of DoD security and compliance frameworks (e.g. CMMC) as they apply to system design, or demonstrated ability to ramp fast * U.S. Citizenship with the ability to obtain a security clearance, * Experience scaling a cross-domain engineering team 2x+ in under a year * Experience in defense, aerospace, or other mission-critical or regulated environments * Direct CMMC Level 2 (or similar) experience in a systems engineering context * Experience with embedded and edge-constrained systems (embedded Linux, RTOS, bare-metal) * Familiarity with SIL and HIL pipelines and sim-to-field validation * Experience authoring or overseeing ICDs, requirements traceability, or MBSE artifacts, * Systems thinker comfortable operating across software, networking, RF, firmware, and hardware boundaries * Strong debugger and root-cause analyst, with the discipline to trace hard failures across layers rather than stopping at the first plausible symptom * Effective team-builder and coach, capable of teaching cross-domain judgment as a repeatable team capability * Detail-oriented approach to system reliability, security, and release readiness in mission-critical applications * Collaborative mindset with the ability to work effectively across engineering, autonomy, and integration teams * Bias for action, with the judgment to escalate cross-team gaps with clear options rather than just problems * Mission driven, with a personal commitment to supporting the nation's defense ## Description Location: Austin, TX (Hybrid on-site, with approximately 20% typical travel, and up to 40% during field exercises and major integration events) Reports to: Head of Engineering (interim Systems Engineering lead) Clearance Requirement: U.S. Citizen with the ability to obtain a security clearance, We are seeking a Systems Engineering Manager to build and run the team responsible for NODA's system-level integrity as we scale. This is a high-ownership, still-technical manager role. You will personally profile systems, debug the cross-domain issues no one else can cleanly own, and build a team that catches what other teams miss, whether the gap was left deliberately or by accident., * Hire, level, and develop engineers across software, networking, RF, and hardware-adjacent debugging to build the bench NODA needs as headcount scales * Coach cross-layer debugging as a team capability, teaching engineers when to go deep in one domain, when to go wide across several, and when to delegate * Personally profile systems and root-cause the issues too ambiguous or too cross-cutting for anyone else to cleanly own * Own System Health for your scope, including performance and stability KPIs, MTTR on cross-system issues, degradation detection, and the tooling and telemetry that makes it possible * Own crash-to-root-cause analysis and the verification evidence behind release go/no-go calls * Treat security and CMMC-derived constraints as first-class design inputs, not a parallel compliance track * Catch the gaps other teams leave, deliberately or inadvertently, before they surface as integration failures or field incidents * Translate field, customer, and BD requirements into constraints your team can build against * Represent Systems Engineering at cross-team design sessions and the Architecture Review Board, and escalate system integrity and delivery risk per the Systems Engineering charter, * L5 - Technical Lead, Systems Engineering: hands-on across software, networking, RF, and hardware boundaries; informally mentors engineers; builds the cross-domain credibility this role is built on * L6 - Engineering Manager, Systems Engineering: manages a pod; hands-on in debugging and profiling day-to-day; executes System Health with architect guidance * L7 - Senior Engineering Manager, Systems Engineering: manages the full implementation bench; owns System Health outcomes independently; sets technical direction multiple pods execute against; represents the team at the Architecture Review Board ## Related Videos - [The AI-Native Engineering Org: What’s Real, What’s Hype, What’s Next](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100004-the-ai-native-engineering-org-what-s-real-what-s-hype-what-s-next) - [Developer’s Perspective: Overview of the Tezos Blockchain Ecosystem](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/237-developer-s-perspective-overview-of-the-tezos-blockchain-ecosystem) - [What Developers Get Wrong About Application Quality](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/233-what-developers-get-wrong-about-application-quality) - [Playing Pong on a shoulder press machine](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/100140-playing-pong-on-a-shoulder-press-machine) - [Remote Driving on Plant Grounds with State-of-the-Art Cloud Technologies](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/251-remote-driving-on-plant-grounds-with-state-of-the-art-cloud-technologies) - [Exploring BOS: The Blockchain Operating System by NEAR Protocol](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/videos/781-exploring-bos-the-blockchain-operating-system-by-near-protocol) ## Related Articles - [From developer to manager – what does it take to become an engineering manager?](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/magazine/42-from-developer-to-manager-what-does-it-take-to-become-an-engineering-manager) - [Should Tech Managers Be Developers First? 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