Head of AI

Job description

Swarmer develops software that makes drones autonomous and allows them to operate together, in large, coordinated teams — no pilots needed. Our technology has been battle-tested in Ukraine— the world’s most intense proving ground for drone warfare. In March 2026, we became the first Ukrainian defense startup to go public on NASDAQ, following a $15M Series A — the largest investment in a Ukrainian defense tech company since the start of the war. Working at Swarmer means operating at the intersection of engineering rigor and frontline reality. The problems and environments are complex, and the stakes are very real. We built this software to enable democratic nations to defend themselves. If you are motivated by building resilient systems that matter and by seeing the direct impact of your work, you’ll find purpose here. WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR: We are looking for a hands-on AI leader who can turn ambitious ideas into shipped, field-ready outcomes in the defense-tech environment. This is a manager-first role with strong technical depth, reporting directly to the CEO. The right person will bring structure to the AI organization, build effective processes, align discrete initiatives into one clear roadmap, and act as a strong bridge between the CEO and the AI team. We are not looking for a pure visionary, idea generator, or detached architect. We need an operator with strong judgment, common sense, people sense, and execution discipline. WHAT YOU’LL DO: - Own the AI roadmap and execution rhythm across Swarmer’s autonomy, perception, and data stack (LMT, ATR, VISNAV). - Consolidate AI/ML efforts into one coherent roadmap with clear owners, priorities, and delivery accountability. - Align AI initiatives with product roadmap, combat-ops priorities, and field constraints. - Build strong operating processes for planning, prioritization, ownership, quality, metrics, and quarterly delivery. - Prioritize ruthlessly: say no, defend focus, surface conflicts, and stop work that should not continue. - Architect and integrate the data function into the broader AI organization. - Improve team speed through tooling, automation, AI-assisted workflows, and hands-on contribution where needed. - Make high-level technical decisions and supervise the architectural choices of senior leads (CV, robotics, autonomy, integration) YOU’LL BE A GOOD FIT IF YOU HAVE: - 5+ years in a managerial role leading technical teams. - Proven experience leading AI/ML, computer vision, perception, or autonomy teams. - Strong people management skills: hiring, team structure, accountability, performance management, and leadership of senior ICs. - Hands-on technical background in AI/ML, computer vision, robotics, autonomy, or related fields. - Ability to supervise technical decisions and challenge senior engineers without needing to act as the CTO. - Strong execution discipline, speed over perfectionism, and comfort being judged on shipped outcomes. - Real power-user experience with AI engineering tools such as Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, or similar and the conviction that the entire engineering team should be using them daily. - Solid fundamentals in math and physics — comfortable reasoning about the physical world (wind, ballistics, sensor behavior, drone dynamics) before defaulting to "let's train a model." Candidates who only know ML as an applied toolkit without underlying intuition are not a fit. - Experience deploying models at the edge / on embedded platforms (e.g., Jetson, Qualcomm) — not only in the cloud. - Upper-Intermediate level of English or higher WOULD BE AN ADVANTAGE: - Experience with ATR, object recognition, perception systems, or autonomous systems at depth. - Experience with embedded AI, edge deployment, or resource-constrained environments. - Hardware-software integration experience. - Defense, aerospace, drones, robotics, or operational technology experience. - Experience rebuilding or scaling a data team and working directly with founders or CEOs. WHAT YOU’LL GET: - A chance to shape the core autonomy and perception systems at the heart of Ukraine’s defense tech ecosystem and its international expansion - Direct impact in a high-stakes industry where security decisions carry real-world consequences - Professional growth through working with cutting-edge defense technologies and exposure to international security best practices - Competitive salary, benefits package (insurance, paid sick leaves, 20 paid days off per year) - Benefits of the defense sector (reservation, etc) HOW’S THE HIRING PROCESS GOING: ✔️ Recruiter Screen → ✔️ Technical Interview → ✔️ Managerial Interview → ✔️ Final Interview with CEO →✔️ Background check → ✔️Offer Ready to Apply?