Engineering Manager - Autonomy
Company websiteskydio.com (Skydio, Inc, opens in new tab)
Base salary $170K to $276K
Employer-published annual base salary, USD. Advertised base range in San Mateo, CA
You apply on the employer's own site. Six Figure Work does not handle applications.
- LocationSan Mateo, CA
- WorkplaceHybrid
- Status at last checkSource accepting applications when checked
- Last checked (1 h ago) · observed since
About this job
Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors to first responders, soldiers in battlefield scenarios, and beyond.
About the role:
Skydio is built around deep technological investments in autonomy that lead to breakthrough products. We are looking for world-class engineering leaders to scale up the autonomy team to deliver Skydio’s vision. Our small team has incredible technical strength in solving complex algorithmic challenges, and needs help growing to meet the product opportunities ahead. You will be responsible for one or more areas of ownership across core drone platforms, SW architecture, simulation, SDK, object detection, map infrastructure, situational awareness, computational photography, and state estimation. You will manage the execution of the product + technology roadmap and be responsible for hiring, mentoring, and driving infrastructure investments that make us successful. We are open to candidates with a broad range of experience from tech leads to senior directors who are passionate about our mission.
How you'll make an impact:
Leverage product insight, robotics and/or computer vision, and high quality software engineering to bring state-of-the-art autonomy technology to market
Execute on complex cross-team goals, collaborating across our product management, embedded, mobile, cloud, hardware, and flight test teams with emphasis on excellent communication
Hire and mentor elite engineers to scale up our team
Leverage your experience and best practices to uphold and improve Skydio’s engineering standards
What makes you a good fit:
Hands-on technical leader with strong software engineering experience
Deep understanding of topics in robotics, computer vision, and software systems
Proven leadership, management, recruiting, team building, and communication skills
Solid fundamentals in 3D geometry, mathematics, and linear algebra
Experience with hardware is a plus but not required
You love building flying robots and making them do amazing things in the world
Obtaining FAA Part 107 certification within the first 60 days of employment is strongly encouraged for all Skydio employees and required for certain positions.
Compensation: At Skydio, our compensation packages for regular, full-time employees include competitive base salaries, equity in the form of stock options, and comprehensive benefits packages. Compensation will vary based on factors, including skill level, proficiencies, transferable knowledge, and experience. Relocation assistance may also be provided for eligible roles. The annual base salary range for this position is $170,000 - $276,000*. Fundamentally, we believe that equity is the key to long-term financial growth, and we ensure all regular, full-time employees have the opportunity to significantly benefit from the company's success. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to enroll in the Company’s group health insurance plans. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to receive the following benefits: Paid vacation time, sick leave, holiday pay and 401K savings plan. This position and all associated benefits are subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws, as well as the Company’s policies and eligibility criteria.
*Compensation for certain positions may vary based on the position’s location.
#LI-PG1
At Skydio we believe that diversity drives innovation. We have created a multidisciplinary environment that embraces the power of diverse perspectives to create elegant solutions for complex problems. We are committed to growing our network of people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local anti-discrimination laws.
For positions located in the United States of America, Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov/
Source: Skydio, Inc on Ashby · View original posting (opens in new tab)
Pay in context
This role's base floor ($170,000) is above 45% of the 4,268 Software Engineering roles in California listed on this site; 71 others list the same floor. Their median floor is $176,050; the middle half runs from $149,100 to $204,000.
Only jobs on this site count, and each one publishes a base salary of $100,000 or more, so this compares six-figure jobs with each other, not with the whole market. Computed Nov 7, 2026.
This listingEngineering Manager - Autonomy$170K to $276K
Field Readiness Lead, Solutions Engineering$170K to $215K
Senior Electric Motor Propulsion Engineer$170,000 to $277,500
Senior Hardware Operations Program Manager$170K to $230K
Senior Hardware Test and Reliability Engineer$170K to $230K
Senior Software Engineer, Full Stack$170K to $240K
Senior Autonomy Engineer, Data Curation$170K to $240K
Chart as a table
| Role | Published base |
|---|---|
| Engineering Manager - Autonomy (this listing) | $170K - $276K |
| Field Readiness Lead, Solutions Engineering | $170K - $215K |
| Senior Electric Motor Propulsion Engineer | $170,000 - $277,500 |
| Senior Hardware Operations Program Manager | $170K - $230K |
| Senior Hardware Test and Reliability Engineer | $170K - $230K |
| Senior Software Engineer, Full Stack | $170K - $240K |
| Senior Autonomy Engineer, Data Curation | $170K - $240K |
Observed changes
- First observed on the employer's board
- Began meeting the published-salary criteria
- Observed since
- Employer-stated posting date
- 2022-12-08
Where this pay comes from
Location as the employer wrote it: San Mateo, California, United States
ncies, transferable knowledge, and experience. Relocation assistance may also be provided for eligible roles. The annual base salary range for this position is $170,000 - $276,000*. Fundamentally, we believe that equity is the key to long-
- Method
- Employer text, read with fixed rules and re-verified
- Checked
- Rule set
- us-base-v2
The pay passage appears in the employer's own job text. Fixed, deterministic rules located it, and the passage below was checked against the stored copy of the posting.
What we verified
- The pay figures come from the employer's own listing, quoted exactly above.
- The pay is an annual base salary in US dollars with a minimum of at least $100,000.
- The role was publicly listed on the employer's job board when last checked.
We do not verify what the employer will actually offer, whether the employer is still recruiting for the role, or anything beyond what the employer published. Full methodology.
