DescriptionQuantum Sky is searching for a Director, Axis — Decision Advantage & AI Applications. Axis is where Quantum Sky builds the AI applications that put decision advantage in mission hands. You own it — and the engineering discipline every Quantum Sky software team ships with.
Project 137 is Quantum Sky's applied-research and IP engine — a small, cleared, elite team that builds the differentiated technology our business units take to DoW, IC, and Federal Civilian missions. It runs four pillars: Groundstate(Quantum), SkyWatch (Cyber), Matrix (Digital Platforms & Infrastructure), and Axis (Decision Advantage / AI applications).
The mission: make Quantum Sky the fastest credible builder of mission AI software in the federal market. That means an AI-native software development lifecycle (the AI SDLC) that turns a validated mission need into a working, accredited application in weeks, not quarters — and the evidence to prove it. This is not a delivery-management role. You decide what we build, how we build it, and how we show clients the difference.
Responsibilities:
Three things you will own:
- The AI SDLC and Convergence Forge. Convergence Forge is Quantum Sky's engineering foundation; the AI SDLC is its core. You own both and enforce them enterprise-wide — across Project 137 and the business unit delivery programs.
- The agentic backplane (with Matrix). The shared control plane, A2A/MCP plumbing, and guardrails that let agents operate across Quantum Sky systems. Co-developed by Axis and Matrix; leveraged by every pillar. Axis owns the application and agent layer.
- The Axis product line. AI applications, agents, and solution accelerators for decision advantage — built as IP Quantum Sky keeps.
You lead the Axis pillar: its roadmap, its IP, and a team of 5–8 engineers spanning AI/ML, software engineering, and DevSecOps. Axis stays small and elite; scale happens inside the business units, running on the AI SDLC you set.
- Establish and enforce the AI SDLC. Define how Quantum Sky builds software with AI agents in the loop — requirements, design, code generation, test, security, documentation, and accreditation evidence. Set the standards, tooling, guardrails, and gates. Drive adoption across every BU delivery program, and hold the line on quality and security.
- Impact metrics that win work. Build the measurement system for our app dev shop: cycle time from need to working software, defect escape, rework, cost per feature, time to ATO evidence, mission outcome measures. Package them so BUs, BD, and Growth can put them in front of clients and in proposals. Numbers we can defend, not vanity metrics.
- Solutions and products. Build Axis applications, agents, and accelerators for decision advantage across DoW, IC, and FedCiv. Quantum Sky retains IP by default and chooses the motion — solution, managed service, or product.
- Integration across Project 137.
Matrix — co-develop the agentic backplane; Axis apps run on Matrix's cleared cloud and MLOps fabric.
SkyWatch — secure-by-design pipelines, SBOMs, and agentic AppSec built into the AI SDLC; Axis builds the applications behind SkyWatch's agentic SOC.
Groundstate — crypto-agile applications by default; build the classical and hybrid application layer around Groundstate's quantum algorithm work.
- Hunting as a squad. Pair with the business units (mission intimacy) and Growth (market and contract value) to validate need, market, and feasibility before building. Take working IP to test-and-evaluation events to harden it against real mission scenarios.
- M&A in software engineering and app dev. Source, assess, and diligence targets; judge engineering quality, IP, and talent; own technical integration onto the AI SDLC after close.
- The technical face of Axis. Lead whiteboarding with program offices and CIO/CTO/CDAO organizations. Brief in the Project 137 lab and Executive Briefing Center.
- A multi-disciplinary team. Hire and develop engineers who go from mission problem to accredited production without silos.
Qualifications
Required:
- The blueprint. 12+ years building and shipping software, including 5+ years delivering mission applications for DoW, IC, or Federal Civilian customers. You have shipped production software at federal scale and accreditation level.
- The scars. 8+ years hands-on across modern software engineering: cloud-native architecture, DevSecOps and CI/CD, APIs and data integration, and full-stack or ML application development. You have led architecture, delivery, and operations — not just oversight.
- The AI-native edge. 2+ years leading teams that build with AI in the loop — AI coding agents, LLM-powered applications, RAG, multi-agent systems — and the evals, guardrails, and governance that make them trustworthy. You know the difference between a demo and a fielded agent, and you have shipped the latter.
- The measurement discipline. You have stood up engineering metrics (DORA or equivalent) and tied them to business and mission outcomes. You know which numbers survive scrutiny from a skeptical program office.
- The accreditation path. You have taken software from prototype to ATO, ideally continuous ATO via a software factory. Fluent in the DoW Software Acquisition Pathway, CSOs and OTAs, software factories, SBOMs, secure-by-design, and the SWFT direction of travel.
- The standards. Working fluency in NIST 800-53 and 800-218 (SSDF), FedRAMP, the NIST AI RMF, and OMB M-25-21 and M-25-22 on federal AI use and acquisition.
- The builder mindset. You have hired, developed, and kept senior engineers in a competitive market, and you set engineering standards that other teams actually adopt.
Desired:
- SDLC visionary. An operationalized point of view on how AI changes the software lifecycle — conference talks, public writing, named patterns or open-source work.
- M&A experience. Technical diligence or post-merger integration of software or app dev firms.
- Decision advantage domain depth. C2, ISR, intelligence analysis, logistics, or fraud and benefits processing.
- Lab rat. You still write code, build reference implementations, and break vendor claims to understand them.
Clearance:
- Active Secret required. Active TS/SCI preferred; strong candidates may be sponsored.
About Quantum Sky
Compensation:
- Compensation is unique to each candidate and relative to the skills and experience they bring to the position. The salary range for this position is typically between $225,000-$275,000. This does not guarantee a specific salary as compensation is based upon multiple factors such as education, experience, certifications, and other requirements, and may fall outside of the above-stated range.
Benefits:
- Highlights of our benefits include Health/Dental/Vision, 401(k) match, Paid Time Off, STD/LTD/Life Insurance, Referral Bonuses, professional development reimbursement, and parental leave.
The world the mission operates in is going post-quantum, contested, and machine-speed. Quantum Sky engineers the advantage across cyber, networks, software, and quantum because the mission demands dominance, not parity. We don't follow the map. We draw it.
At Quantum Sky, we believe that success starts with our people. We foster a collaborative, innovative, and mission-driven environment where every team member plays a critical role in shaping the future of technology. Are you ready to join #TeamQuantumSky?
