Director of Engineering - Robotics & AI

At WingXpand® Locations: Chicago (Schaumburg), IL

‍Type Full-Time

About WingXpand WingXpand is Expanding What’s Possible™ with Autonomous Systems, building long-endurance, backpackable smart plane drones and robotics systems that support defense, public safety, disaster response, and commercial missions. Our platforms operate across air, ground, and maritime domains, integrating autonomy, AI-powered sensing, edge computing, and networked systems to deliver real-world intelligence and threat detection. We design, build, and deploy complete systems — hardware, software, and data — and we move fast. As WingXpand scales, we are seeking high performers to grow with our team.

Position Description WingXpand is seeking a Director of Engineering to lead multi-disciplinary engineering teams across hardware, electrical, embedded software, autonomy, and AI-enabled sensing systems. This is a hands-on technical leadership role for an experienced engineering leader who thrives in fast-moving environments and knows how to balance technical excellence, execution speed, and team development. You will partner closely with product, manufacturing, and leadership to deliver field-ready autonomous systems that meet demanding operational requirements. You will be responsible for technical direction, execution accountability, and engineering culture, ensuring WingXpand continues to deliver reliable, scalable, and differentiated autonomous platforms.

Key Responsibilities Engineering Leadership & Strategy

• Lead WingXpand’s engineering organization across hardware, electrical, embedded software, autonomy, and AI systems.
• Set technical vision and engineering strategy aligned with company goals, product roadmaps, and customer requirements.
• Own engineering execution across multiple concurrent programs and domains (air, ground, maritime).
• Establish engineering best practices for design, testing, documentation, and release.

Autonomous Systems & AI Execution

• Oversee development of multi-domain autonomous platforms integrating sensors, AI threat detection, networking, and edge computing.
• Guide system architecture decisions spanning aircraft, payloads, autonomy stacks, and data pipelines.
• Ensure AI-enabled sensing and detection systems meet performance, reliability, and operational requirements.
• Balance rapid iteration with system robustness for real-world deployments.

Program Execution & Delivery

• Partner with Project Management and Program Management to deliver programs on time and meeting requirements
• Ensure engineering teams are aligned to milestones, priorities, and customer deliverables.
• Identify risks early and drive resolution across teams.
• Support prototype, flight test, OT&E, and transition-to-production efforts.

Team Development & Culture

• Recruit, mentor, and develop high-performing engineers across disciplines.
• Create a culture of ownership, accountability, collaboration, and technical excellence.
• Provide clear technical leadership while empowering engineers to execute.
• Support career growth and progression for engineers at all levels.

Cross-Functional & External Collaboration

• Work closely with manufacturing to ensure design for manufacturability (DFM) and scalable production.
• Collaborate with business development and leadership to support customer engagements, proposals, and technical briefings.
• Translate customer needs and operational feedback into engineering priorities.
• Serve as a technical authority in discussions with government, defense, and commercial stakeholders.

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Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience in engineering roles, with at least 5 years in engineering leadership or management positions.
• Strong technical background spanning hardware, embedded systems, and software.
• Experience delivering autonomous systems, robotics, aerospace, defense, or AI-enabled platforms.
• Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary engineering teams in fast-paced environments.
• Experience executing programs from concept → prototype → deployment → production.
• Strong systems engineering mindset with the ability to make pragmatic tradeoffs.
• Excellent communication skills; able to engage deeply with engineers and clearly brief executives and customers.

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Additional Qualifications

• Experience with UAVs, UAS, robotics, or multi-domain autonomous systems.
• Familiarity with AI/ML systems, ISR, sensing, networking, or edge computing.
• Experience supporting government or defense programs, including OT&E or operational deployments.
• Background in electrical engineering, embedded systems, or autonomy.
• Experience scaling engineering teams at a startup or growth-stage company.

What Else You Need To Know To conform to U.S. Government aerospace technology export regulations, applicant must be a 'U.S. Person' (U.S. Citizen or a Permanent Resident/Green Card Holder).

If you are a self-motivated, results-driven individual with a passion for innovation and technology, we want to hear from you!

Apply with your resume and optional cover letter (CV), including the types of engineering or technical roles you have hired.