Engagement Manager (Homeland Layered Defense), Public Sector
Scale AI is hiring an Engagement Manager (Homeland Layered Defense), Public Sector in Washington DC, United States. It pays $166k-$208k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Scale AI.
Level's read on this job
- Works on AI ●●●○ is how Level rates this role: the daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include AI agents, customer relationship management and program management.
- Level classifies it as a senior role.
- Level lists 170 other open roles at Scale AI.
AI in this role
Lead customer engagement and adoption of AI and agentic workflow capabilities for defense sector clients.
Scale's public sector business is providing the best of American commercial technology and innovation to protect the homeland and meet the moment. As a member of our public sector delivery team, you will own relationships critical to the portfolio of clients charged with a layered defense for the United States. You will be a catalyst, willing to go deep, get technical, and drive change. You will manage customer relationships and partners as well as partner with our engineering team to solve Scale’s hardest problems. All of this serves an ultimate goal of delivering cutting-edge agentic AI to orchestrate portfolio management for defense of the homeland.
You will:
- Own customer relationships across the account, from senior government leaders and program offices to analysts and operational users
- Build structured user-engagement programs that reach the operators and analysts using Scale’s products day-to-day
- Work alongside customers to translate operational workflows and mission problems into well-defined AI and agentic workflow use cases
- Lead cross-functional teams across engineering, product, operations, security, and government stakeholders to deliver on customer objectives
- Plan and execute customer engagement weeks, user testing events, demonstrations, briefings, and other onsite activities
- Drive adoption of Scale capabilities in operational environments, incorporating user feedback into product requirements and delivery priorities
Must haves:
- Active TS/SCI clearance
- 5+ years of experience in technical program management, software engineering, systems engineering, product management, technical consulting, or a related technical delivery role
- Demonstrated ability to build trust with both senior executives and hands-on operational users
- Experience translating complex customer workflows into structured technical or product requirements
- Strong technical fluency and the ability to hold credible conversations with engineering and product teams about AI, software systems, data, and agentic workflows
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively with senior government leaders
- Comfort working extensively inside secure facilities and air-gapped government systems
- Willingness to travel 25–50% for onsite engagements, testing events, briefings, and customer meetings
We have a diverse team with a variety of skill sets, many have:
- Prior military or civilian experience inside a Combatant Command, Numbered Air Force, Air Operations Center, Joint Intelligence Operations Center, or Intelligence Community agency
- Experience deploying software into a live operational center or watch floor
- Experience writing Product Requirements Documents and translating operator workflows into software requirements
- Familiarity with Joint Planning, intelligence, targeting, integrated air and missile defense, modeling and simulation, or related mission areas
- Experience supporting formal government test and evaluation events
Compensation packages at Scale for eligible roles include base salary, equity, and benefits. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position and may be inclusive of several career levels at Scale; it will be determined during the interview process based on work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, qualifications, interview performance, and relevant education or training. Scale employees in eligible roles are also granted equity based compensation, subject to Board of Director approval. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process, and confirm whether the hired role will be eligible for equity grant. You'll also receive benefits including, but not limited to: comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, retirement benefits, a learning and development stipend, and generous PTO. Additionally, this role may be eligible for additional benefits such as a commuter stipend.
The base salary range for this full-time position in the location of Washington DC is:$166,400—$208,000 USDPLEASE NOTE: Our policy requires a 90-day waiting period before reconsidering candidates for the same role. This allows us to ensure a fair and thorough evaluation of all applicants.
About Us:
At Scale, our mission is to develop reliable AI systems for the world's most important decisions. Our products provide the high-quality data and full-stack technologies that power the world's leading models, and help enterprises and governments build, deploy, and oversee AI applications that deliver real impact. We work closely with industry leaders like Meta, Ernst & Young, Mayo Clinic, Time Inc., the Government of Qatar, and U.S. government agencies including the Army and Air Force. We are expanding our team to accelerate the development of AI applications.
We believe that everyone should be able to bring their whole selves to work, which is why we are proud to be an inclusive and equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability status, gender identity or Veteran status.
We are committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with physical and mental disabilities. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation in the application or recruiting process due to a disability, please contact us at accommodations@scale.com. Please see the United States Department of Labor's Know Your Rights poster for additional information.
We comply with the United States Department of Labor's Pay Transparency provision.
PLEASE NOTE: We collect, retain and use personal data for our professional business purposes, including notifying you of job opportunities that may be of interest and sharing with our affiliates. We limit the personal data we collect to that which we believe is appropriate and necessary to manage applicants’ needs, provide our services, and comply with applicable laws. Any information we collect in connection with your application will be treated in accordance with our internal policies and programs designed to protect personal data. Please see our privacy policy for additional information.
How we rate this
Engagement Manager (Homeland Layered Defense), Public Sector at Scale AI rates 65 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Works on AI (AI Level 3 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Works on AI. The daily work is on AI products, without building the model.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Questions you could be asked
- How do you decide when an AI agent can act on its own versus asking for approval first?
- Tell me about a project where customer relationship management was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where program management was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where cross functional leadership was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where user testing was part of your work. What did you do?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: AI agents, Customer Relationship Management, Program Management, Cross Functional Leadership, and User Testing. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
- Show where AI is part of your daily process, not a one-off project. This role expects it to be a running habit.
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