Technical Lead – Intelligence & Autonomous Systems

📍 Reston, VA | Full-Time, Onsite Only (5 Days/Week)

💰 Base Salary: $180,000 – $276,000

District Partners is supporting a cutting-edge product organization within the Intelligence Community that’s delivering advanced autonomous systems for mission-critical national security programs. Their tech stack blends AI, multi-sensor integration, and secure networking into real-time, deployable platforms — solving some of the most complex challenges in defense today.

We’re seeking a Technical Lead to help drive the design, development, and delivery of integrated systems built for high-impact intelligence missions. This is a unique opportunity to lead cross-functional teams across hardware and software, shape technical strategy, and own full lifecycle development on programs that truly matter.

🔧 What You’ll Do:

• Lead a multidisciplinary team (software, hardware, robotics, test) to deliver highly integrated autonomous systems.
• Architect solutions and set technical direction for multi-platform product development.
• Establish best practices across code quality, integration, testing, and deployment.
• Conduct root cause analysis on complex issues and drive technical resolution.
• Serve as a hands-on mentor to engineers while scaling the technical capabilities of the broader team.
• Act as a customer-facing technical SME for engineering efforts across mission systems.
• Travel up to 25% to support testing, integration, and customer deployments.

🎯 What You Bring:

• Bachelor’s in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• 8+ years of engineering experience focused on autonomous systems or defense-related technology development.
• Past experience delivering full-stack hardware/software solutions in high-stakes environments.
• Background in unmanned aerial systems (UAS), including autonomy, navigation, payload integration, and communications.
• Active TS/SCI security clearance required — no flexibility on this point.
• Must be onsite full-time in Reston, VA (relocation assistance available if needed).

⭐ Bonus Points For:

• Experience with HITL/SITL testing environments and rapid prototyping cycles.
• Background in deploying aerial autonomous systems for IC or DoD missions.
• Familiarity with field testing and mission deployment cycles in classified programs.

Why This Matters:

The work you’ll lead is directly tied to national security outcomes. This is a chance to be at the forefront of autonomy and intelligence systems, solving real problems with a high-caliber engineering team and leadership that prioritizes mission delivery.

#CJ