Head of Engineering

Swarmer is a Vendor-Agnostic Autonomy for Coordinated Robots. We develop AI-managed collaborative autonomy to make teams of connected drones and autonomous systems smart, efficient, and self-improving over time.

ROLE OVERVIEW:

We are looking for a Head of Engineering to lead and scale our engineering organization as we grow our Warsaw hub. This is not a “process babysitter” role — you will build the technical engine that allows us to ship at operational speed, with uncompromising reliability and ethics-first defense AI.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Scale the team: grow our engineering group significantly across autonomy, comms, distributed systems, integrations, and field support.
• Set technical direction for autonomy, real-time networking, and multi-domain control software — ensuring architecture decisions align with mission outcomes.
• Balance R&D and delivery: lead teams to ship features that work in real operations, not just lab demos.
• Build leadership layers: mentor leads, establish clear ownership, and design structures that can handle rapid growth.
• Raise the engineering bar: implement architecture reviews, code quality, security posture, and resilience standards.
• Align with product and field ops: translate operator feedback and combat learnings into engineering priorities.
• Partner with executive leadership on hiring strategy, budgeting, and cross-functional planning for our Warsaw engineering hub.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:

• Proven experience leading engineering teams at scale (50+ engineers), ideally in robotics, defense tech, aerospace, or distributed systems.
• Deep technical credibility in autonomy, networking, or large-scale systems — you don’t need to code daily, but you can walk into a design review and set the standard.
• Track record of building leadership teams, processes, and structures that support rapid scaling without sacrificing quality.
• Bias for action: comfortable making hard trade-offs under uncertainty and maintaining momentum.
• Demonstrated success shipping systems where reliability and security are non-negotiable.
• Values aligned with ethical defense technology and human-on-the-loop AI.
• Willingness to be based in Warsaw and travel occasionally to other sites.
• English C1+; Competent Polish or Ukrainian.

WE OFFER:

• A rare chance to build the engineering backbone of a company defining the future of defense autonomy — from our new Warsaw hub.
• Direct impact in a high-stakes industry where your leadership decisions carry real-world consequences.
• Professional growth through exposure to advanced autonomy technologies and international best practices in scaling engineering organizations.
• Competitive salary and benefits (insurance, paid sick leave, 20 paid days off per year).
• Benefits of the defense sector (reservation and related advantages, where applicable).
• Flexible working arrangements with a Warsaw base (ability to commute to the location is a must).

Ready to Apply?
If you’re excited about solving complex challenges and eager to contribute to the future of collaborative autonomy, we’d love to hear from you!