Manager, Solutions Engineering - Commercial, Emerging Industries

Skills this role screens for

About the role

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 https://www.skydio.com/solutions/energy-and-utilities to first responders https://www.skydio.com/solutions/public-safety, soldiers in battlefield scenarios https://www.skydio.com/solutions/national-security/tactical-isr, and beyond https://www.skydio.com/solutions.

The work

ABOUT THE ROLE

Skydio is seeking a Solutions Engineering leader to run the Emerging Industries team, the group responsible for turning promising use cases into repeatable, scalable businesses. You will lead a team of quota-bearing Solutions Engineers who operate at the front edge of the market: scoping and executing proofs of concept, defining success criteria where none exist, validating new hardware, software, and workflows, and determining whether a use case is real before the company invests behind it.

In addition to the Emerging Industries team, you will manage Solutions Engineers who support Skydio's high-leverage sales channels and our Inside Sales Representatives (ISRs). These roles extend Solutions Engineering coverage through partners and high-velocity sales motions, and they require a different operating model than field POCs: scalable enablement, fast technical qualification, and repeatable assets over bespoke engagements.

This is a remote role. Travel of up to 50% is required to support customer engagements, POCs, field validation, partner activities, and company events.

This role reports to the Director, Solutions Engineering – Commercial.

The company

ABOUT THE TEAM

The Commercial Solutions Engineering team is the technical authority behind every commercial engagement. We sit between the customer and the product: running technical discovery, designing solutions, executing paid dock trials, and carrying customers from a first site through fleet-wide rollout.

The team is measured on technical win rate, trial and proof of concept outcomes, program expansion, and the quality of requirements we push back into the product organization. Solutions Engineers operate against a shared quota with their sales counterparts, and Solutions Specialists provide domain depth as an overlay across segments.

Solutions Engineers are critical members of the Skydio Sales organization and work closely with Account Executives, Inside Sales Representatives, Partner and Rental teams, Solutions Specialists, Deployment Engineers, and the Launch Team to support deal progression, customer confidence, successful deployments, and the long-term success of commercial UAS programs.

HOW YOU’LL MAKE AN IMPACT

The company

LEAD THE TEAM

• Hire, develop, and retain a team of Solutions Engineers with complementary domain coverage across target segments.
• Build the qualification framework for new use cases and industries: what gets a POC, what gets a deferral, and what evidence is required to move a segment from exploratory to funded.
• Own team productivity, engagement, and growth. Serve as the decision-maker for Solutions Engineering capacity within your segment: set priorities for where the team's time goes, decline requests that don't meet the bar, and keep Sales leadership informed of the tradeoffs behind each call.
• Develop people beyond the seat they are in, including career paths, promotion cases, and succession inside your team.

Also

DRIVE TECHNICAL WINS

-

• Own technical win rate for Emerging Industries and partner with segment sales leadership on pipeline health and quota attainment.
• Lead POC and pilot design across oil and gas including optical gas imaging and methane detection, construction and AEC progress documentation, survey and mapping, mining, and logistics and distribution.