Manager, Solutions Engineering – Commercial, Emerging Industries

US CA San Mateo · USD 215,000-270,000 / year · Full-time · Remote · Posted Oct 5, 2026

At a glance

Skydio is seeking a Solutions Engineering leader to run the Emerging Industries team, 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 by scoping proofs of concept, defining success criteria, and validating new hardware and software.
In addition, you will manage Solutions Engineers who support high-leverage sales channels and Inside Sales Representatives.

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.
Own team productivity, engagement, and growth, serving as the decision-maker for Solutions Engineering capacity within your segment.
Develop people beyond the seat they are in, including career paths, promotion cases, and succession inside your team.
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.
Work with GTM, Marketing, and Sales leadership to shape segment definitions, target account lists, and go-to-market plays as the commercial segmentation model evolves.
Maintain team fluency in survey and mapping workflows: photogrammetry, PPK and RTK, 3D scan, survey-grade accuracy standards, and 3D data deliverables.
Partner with vendors and Product on payload and sensor requirements for new workflows and define constraints and acceptance criteria.
Own the team’s PRD output and act as the internal voice of the market for segments without a dedicated product owner.

Prior experience as a Solutions Engineer, Solutions Architect, or equivalent technical pre-sales role in one or more of oil and gas, AEC and construction, mining, industrial, or logistics.
Experience running structured proofs of concept with defined success criteria, and the discipline to report results honestly when they are unfavorable.
Working knowledge of survey and mapping workflows: photogrammetry, PPK and RTK, 3D scan, survey-grade accuracy standards, and 3D data deliverables.
Familiarity with specialized payloads — optical gas imaging, LiDAR, therma, RGB — and the ability to define vendor requirements.
Experience with integrations, REST-based APIs, and customer data pipeline patterns.
Strong commercial judgment: the ability to distinguish a genuine market from an interesting demo, and to communicate that distinction to executives.
Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to write a clear PRD and a clear POC report.
Demonstrated people leadership, including hiring and coaching in a segment where the playbook is still being written.
FAA Part 107 Certificate, or the ability to obtain one within 60 days of hire.
Ability to travel up to 50% to support customer engagements, team field activities, and company events, and ability to lift up to 60 lbs unaided.

Direct operator or program experience in AEC, oil and gas, mining, rail, or ports.
Experience bringing a new industry segment from first deal to repeatable motion.
Experience with dock-based, remote, and BVLOS operations at scale.
Working knowledge of Salesforce, Jira, Databricks, or equivalents.
Track record of building and scaling a technical team through a period of rapid growth.

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