Engineering Manager (AU)

Work with cutting edge AI technology, making the world a safer and more secure place. DroneShield (ASX:DRO) offers an opportunity to solve some of world’s most challenging technical problems in the rapidly growing counter-drone sector.

Our customers operate in some of the most challenging and high-stakes environments in the world, including military organisations, government agencies, airports, critical infrastructure operators, and law enforcement. Protecting airspace in these settings requires technology that performs under pressure and teams that understand what’s at stake. At DroneShield, employees work at the leading edge of counter-drone innovation, helping to address real-world security challenges as drone threats continue to evolve globally.

With one of the largest listed defence company market capitalisations in Australia, now part of the ASX200 index, DroneShield is experiencing a period of hypergrowth. Revenue has surged from A$57 million in 2024 to over A$217 million in 2025, representing growth of more than 400% year-on-year, with record profitability and cashflow. The total addressable global market for counter-drone is assessed at approximately $100 billion, and is currently at the nascent stage with much of the growth still to come, with DroneShield well positioned as a global market leader, and the only public listed pure-play business in this sector.

The company has grown from 11 employees in 2017 to over 450 staff globally today, and is on track to reach around 550 by the end of 2026. This expansion includes investment of over A$50 million annually in R&D, a global pipeline exceeding A$2.5 billion, and continuous scaling of production capacity to meet accelerating demand.

Adelaide serves as one of DroneShield’s primary technology and research hubs, bringing together engineers, data scientists, and domain experts focused on advancing counter-drone innovation. The team contributes to the development of detection, analytics, and mitigation technologies, supporting the continuous evolution of DroneShield’s software-defined and AI-enabled capabilities. This hub plays a central role in maintaining the company’s technical edge in a rapidly changing threat environment.

About the role

We are seeking a senior engineering leader to lead, operate, and grow the Adelaide-based R&D organisation. This is a unique leadership role with full accountability for the Adelaide hub, covering people, technology, and site operations.

The role is responsible for driving engineering execution, technical excellence, and team performance across a multidisciplinary group working on advanced defence technologies.

You will lead a highly specialised team spanning algorithms, RF engineering, embedded systems, and software development, ensuring alignment with global technology strategy while delivering high-impact innovation locally.

This position offers a clear pathway to Director-level leadership as the team and site continue to.

The role reports to the VP of Embedded Systems and works closely with senior leadership across product, engineering, and operations.

Responsibilities, Duties and Expectations

Lead and scale the Adelaide R&D engineering function, ensuring strong execution across multiple technical domains

Operate as the Adelaide Hub lead, with full accountability across people, technology, and site operations

Lead the recruitment and retention of top-tier engineering talent in a competitive market

Drive delivery of advanced engineering programs across RF sensing, DSP, embedded systems, AI/ML, and algorithms

Align Adelaide R&D Hub initiatives with Sydney headquarters’ technology strategy and product roadmap while maintaining strong local ownership

Align timelines with the project management group, manage conflicts and ensure that milestones and project deadlines are met.

Manage, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of engineers, fostering a culture of delivery, innovation, accountability, and collaboration

Lead end-to-end engineering execution, from concept and prototyping through to production readiness

Partner closely with Product, Operations, and global Engineering teams to ensure seamless delivery and integration

Establish and enforce engineering best practices across development, testing, and deployment processes

Ensure effective resource planning, prioritisation, and delivery against timelines and budgets

Contribute to strategic decision-making at the leadership level, providing technical insight into future capabilities and investments

Drive continuous improvement in engineering velocity, product quality, and technical capability

Qualifications, Experience and Skills

Bachelor’s degree (or higher) in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field

10+ years of engineering experience, with significant leadership responsibility in complex technical environments

Proven experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams at scale, ideally with site or organisational ownership

Strong background in at least two of the following areas:

RF systems / signal processing

Embedded systems

AI / Machine Learning

Electronic warfare

Distributed or high-performance systems

Demonstrated success in delivering complex R&D or product development programs

Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder management capabilities

Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with a high degree of autonomy

Experience working with defence, aerospace, or similarly regulated industries is highly regarded