Applied Intuition's Digital Proving Grounds (DPGs) give the Department of War a vendor-neutral place to test autonomous systems from many companies together, against a real mission, before they reach the field. A DPG covers the full path from software-in-the-loop (SIL) simulation to hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), live-virtual-constructive (LVC), and live exercises. Teams find integration problems in simulation, where fixes take hours, instead of at a live event, where they take weeks.
DPGs run on Axion, Applied's defense toolchain, with Axion Sim at the core. Applied ran VREX for the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, a DPG that put air, surface, and undersea vehicles from different vendors on one mission. CDAO then selected Applied to build the platform for Autonomy Factory, which brings this approach to programs across the Department of War on autonomy.mil.
The technology works in programs. The next step is a product that program offices, test organizations, and mission engineers choose, adopt, and come back to, without Applied engineers supporting events. As the Product Manager for Digital Proving Grounds, you will own the product strategy, roadmap, and requirements for DPGs and Axion Sim. This is an individual-contributor role. You will work as the product peer to the engineering lead for Axion Sim and drive outcomes through influence across engineering, design, business development, and delivery.
At Applied Intuition, you will
Own the product vision, strategy, and roadmap for DPGs and Axion Sim. Decide what becomes repeatable product and what stays program-specific work.
Find product-market fit. Run discovery with program offices, test and evaluation organizations, mission engineers, and autonomy vendors. Learn who buys, what they need to prove, and what brings them back for the next event. Work with business development and capture to turn what you learn into offers that win programs.
Define the sim-to-live workflow. Shape how a team goes from a mission and its concept of operations to test scenarios, then to SIL at scale, HIL rig checkout, LVC, and live events, with results that carry across each stage.
Set the simulation roadmap with engineering. Make the calls on fidelity versus speed, sensor and communications modeling, scale to hundreds or thousands of agents, co-simulation with government tools, and a self-serve experience in the cloud and on accredited networks.
Build on shared platform components. Work with other Axion product leads so DPGs use common pieces (simulation, campaigns, metrics, jobs) instead of separate versions.
Write clear requirements and define success metrics. Make the scope trade-offs that keep engineering on the work that matters most for upcoming programs and events.
Shape the experience with design. Partner with design on the tools that test planners, vendors, and government evaluators use every day.
Represent the product. Communicate strategy, status, risk, and trade-offs to Applied leadership and to customers. Present at test events, program reviews, and industry events. Expect to travel about 25% of the time to customer sites, test ranges, and events.
Qualification
Experience planning or running LVCSecurity RequirementsMust be a UMust hold or be eligible for a U
Preferred
Experience with modeling and simulation standards and government tools, such as DIS, HLA, AFSIM, NGTS, or co-simulation frameworks.
Experience planning or running LVC, range, or large-scale test events.
Experience with multi-agent or collaborative autonomy, swarms, or communications modeling.
Familiarity with DoD test and evaluation, mission engineering, or acquisition processes.
An active US Secret or Top Secret clearance.
Security Requirements:
Must be a U.S. Citizen
Must hold or be eligible for a U.S. Secret security clearance
