Director, AI-Native Engineering Platform & Tools

Archer is an aerospace company based in San Jose, California building an all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft with a mission to advance the benefits of sustainable air mobility. We are designing, manufacturing, and operating an all-electric aircraft that can carry four passengers while producing minimal noise.

Our sights are set high and our problems are hard, and we believe that diversity in the workplace is what makes us smarter, drives better insights, and will ultimately lift us all to success. We are dedicated to cultivating an equitable and inclusive environment that embraces our differences, and supports and celebrates all of our team members.

About the Role

Archer's software organization is built on a conviction: AI-native engineering will let us ship certified, airworthy software with the velocity of modern technology and the integrity of aviation safety - and out-build anyone in this industry.

This leader owns the engine that makes that true. You will build the cross-domain platform - "by machines, for machines" - that every flight software, GNC, autonomy, and V&V team runs on: AI-assisted development and verification, MLOps and simulation infrastructure, code-to-flight CI/CD, developer tooling and internal "paved roads," observability, and the Dev Ops/SRE and Core OS foundations underneath. Your customers are Archer's engineers;

your product is their velocity and quality.

This is a hands-on leadership role at the intersection of AI, autonomy, infrastructure, and engineering operations. You will partner closely with Flight Software & Algorithms, Autonomy/ML, Systems Engineering, and Product Cybersecurity - and you will be measured by how much faster, and how much more reliably, the entire organization ships.

What You'll Do

AI-Native Engineering (the core of the role)

* Make Archer's engineers AI-native: deploy agentic AI and LLM tooling across the SDLC - code generation and review, test generation, requirements-to-code-to-evidence traceability, documentation, and automated verification.

* Build internal AI tools and "paved roads" that compound developer velocity and become the default way Archer engineers work.

* Build and operate the MLOps and simulation infrastructure for AI/ML and autonomy: data processing, model training, evaluation, validation, and deployment - with reliability, traceability, and performance across the full lifecycle from research to production.

* Create the harnesses that integrate AI and autonomy components into flight-critical software reliably and verifiably.

Developer Platform, Tools & Operations

* Own the end-to-end engineering platform: build systems, CI/CD, test and verification frameworks, deployment pipelines, and the path from code to flight.

* Build developer tooling and observability that measurably improve productivity, reliability, and operational efficiency.

* Lead the Dev Ops/SRE and Core OS foundations that the rest of the org depends on.

Certification-Grade Velocity

* Make "fast" and "certifiable" the same path: automate evidence, traceability, and assurance, and stand up DO-330 tool qualification for the platform and tools that touch certified software.

* Integrate the security gates and policies owned by Product Cybersecurity into the platform so the paved road is secure by default - security is a partnership here, not a function this role staffs or owns.

Leadership & Cross-Functional

* Lead the vision, roadmap, and execution for the AI-native engineering platform; mentor and grow a high-performing team spanning AI Platform Tools & Processes, Core OS, and Dev Ops/SRE.

* Partner with Flight Software, Autonomy/ML, Infrastructure, and Systems Engineering to define requirements and deliver scalable solutions.

* Communicate complex technical concepts clearly, align technical decisions with aircraft development milestones, debate on merit, and commit fully.

Required Qualifications

* 10+ years in software engineering, with significant depth in platform/infrastructure, developer tooling, or AI/ML systems.

* Proven hands-on technical leadership; experience managing engineers and/or managers and scaling teams.

* Deep expertise building tools, platforms, and infrastructure for software delivery and for AI/ML development and deployment.

* Practical experience applying modern AI to engineering - agentic/LLM tooling, MLOps, or AI-assisted development.

* Strong command of distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, infrastructure-as-code, CI/CD, observability, and developer-experience tooling.

Preferred Qualifications

* Experience integrating AI/ML into real-time, safety-critical, or regulated systems.

* Exposure to aerospace, robotics, autonomy, automotive, or other safety-critical domains.

* Experience standing up high-velocity engineering organizations and internal developer platforms ( Topologies).

* Familiarity with DO-178C / DO-330 tool qualification or other certification regimes.

What We Look For

* A builder who treats developer velocity and quality as a product, with engineers as…