---
title: 'Senior Technical Project/Program Manager — Defense and Public Programs at Apex.AI'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-project-program-manager-defense-and-public-programs-apex-ai-fzj8bprezev3'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-12'
---

# Senior Technical Project/Program Manager — Defense and Public Programs at Apex.AI

- **Company:** Apex.AI
- **Location:** Munich, Germany
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-07
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/apex-ai/67e493c8-7073-45a0-ae42-190de066e6dd

## Job description

Apex.AI is building the software foundation for a new generation of sovereign, software-defined defense systems. We are looking for a Senior Technical Project Manager to lead software projects with the German Armed Forces, public-sector defense organizations, and industrial partners, while supporting the expansion of our activities into NATO and allied European programs. You will work at the intersection of customer, technical sales, engineering, and external partners. Your role is to continuously shape and prioritize project scope, align operational needs with technical feasibility, and keep delivery moving across multiple organizations. Our projects focus on Software-Defined Defense, C2/C4ISR/MDO, autonomous systems, and collaborative software development environments — contributing directly to stronger European technological sovereignty and interoperability across allied defense ecosystems. The position is based in Munich and includes regular travel within Europe.

## What You’ll Do

- Lead defense and public-sector software projects from project initiation through iterative delivery

- Define and continuously refine project scope together with customers and engineering teams

- Translate operational needs into actionable technical work packages and delivery priorities

- Balance customer value, technical feasibility, budget, timing and engineering capacity

- Coordinate engineering execution across internal teams and external partners

- Manage schedules, budgets, risks, dependencies and contractual commitments

- Translate operational requirements into actionable technical priorities

- Represent Apex.AI in customer reviews, demonstrations and steering committees

## What You Bring

- Several years of experience leading technically complex, iterative projects

- Diplomatic and collaborative working style, combined with the confidence to challenge assumptions and drive decisions

- Proven experience in defense, public-sector technology, robotics, embedded software, aerospace, or comparable environments

- Proven experience working with the Bundeswehr ecosystem or NATO / allied defense customers

- Strong technical understanding of distributed software systems spanning embedded, edge, networking and cloud environments

- Ability to work effectively with software architects, system engineers, developers and integration teams

- Sound judgment when balancing scope, technical complexity, budget, timing and customer priorities

- Experience coordinating multiple projects, organizations and technical disciplines

- Comfortable driving projects forward despite evolving requirements and technical uncertainty.

- Fluent German and English; willingness to travel

- Eligibility to obtain security clearance (existing clearance is a plus).

## Nice to Have

- Existing German security clearance

-

## Experience working in classified environments

- Familiarity with Software-Defined Defense, C2/C4ISR, Multi-Domain Operations, tactical communications or AI-enabled defense systems

- Familiarity with DevSecOps, CI/CD, software integration, verification & validation or distributed systems

- Experience with public procurement or multi-partner defense projects

## Why Apex.AI

You will help build the software foundations that allow NATO and allied nations to develop and field defense capabilities faster, with greater technological sovereignty and control over their systems.

You will work directly with customers, engineers, public-sector organizations and industrial partners on technically demanding programs with operational relevance.

Apex.AI brings modern software engineering, deterministic middleware, safety-critical AI systems, continuous integration, verification and validation into defense — shortening the path from requirement to deployable capability.

If you want to work on technically demanding programs with direct relevance for our security and resilience — and help change how defense software is developed and delivered — this is the place to do it.

## About Apex.AI

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Apex.AI develops safety-certified, developer-friendly, and scalable software for mobility systems, accelerating the transition to software-defined vehicles and mobility.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Corporate Minority – II; total funding raised >$75 million)
- **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2017
- **Founders**: Jan Becker and Dejan Pangercic

## Core Business
- **Industries**: Automotive, agriculture, medical, defense – any sector requiring safety-critical mobility software.
- **Target Customers**: B2B – OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and system integrators in automotive and other mobility domains.
- **Mission**: Provide safe, certified, developer-friendly, and scalable software that enables the industry to build and deploy software-defined mobility systems.

## Products & Services
- **[Apex.Grace](https://www.apex.ai/about)**: An application runtime framework / SDK (meta‑operating system) based on ROS 2 APIs, safety‑certified to ISO 26262 ASIL‑D. Enables real‑time, reliable, and safe application development for vehicles and autonomous systems.
- **[Apex.Ida](https://www.apex.ai/about)**: High‑performance communication middleware for inter‑process and cross‑domain data transport. Supports multiple protocols (shared memory, DDS, SOME/IP, MQTT, CAN, etc.) with deterministic low latency.
- **[Apex.Alan](https://www.apex.ai/about)**: Software integration and build environment that optimizes the development, testing, and delivery process for customers.
- **[Apex.OS for V&V](https://www.apex.ai/about)**: Record‑and‑playback tool for large, time‑ and data‑deterministic data streams, critical for verification & validation of complex autonomous systems.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed.
- **Key Metric**: Over $75 million in total funding raised (as of 2026-09-06) [apex.ai/about](https://www.apex.ai/about).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: AGCO, Airbus Ventures, Canaan, Continental AG, Daimler Truck, HELLA Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover’s InMotion Ventures, LG Electronics, Lightspeed, Orillion, Toyota Ventures, Volvo Group Venture Capital, ZF [apex.ai/about](https://www.apex.ai/about).
- **Growth Signals**:
  - ~110 employees globally [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/apexai).
  - Offices in Palo Alto, Berlin, Gothenburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Tokyo, Pangyo.
  - 10 patents filed (one granted in 2024) [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/apexai).
  - Expanding beyond automotive into agriculture, medical, and defense sectors.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Safety Certification**: Apex.Grace is certified to ISO 26262 ASIL‑D, the highest automotive safety integrity level.
- **Open‑Source Foundation**: Built on ROS 2 and Eclipse iceoryx, enabling a large developer ecosystem and rapid innovation.
- **High‑Performance Middleware**: Apex.Ida provides data‑amount‑independent low latency, critical for multi‑sensor autonomous systems.
- **Multi‑Industry Applicability**: Already adopted in automotive, agriculture, medical, and defense – reducing single‑industry risk.

## Strategic Focus
- Continue to scale the platform for software‑defined vehicles, while expanding into new verticals (defense, medical, agriculture).
- Deepen partnerships with tier‑1 suppliers and OEMs to embed Apex.OS into production vehicles.
- Maintain leadership in safety‑certified, ROS‑based middleware and runtime environments.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Emphasizes collaboration, openness, diversity, and passion for safety‑critical software. “Our people are our secret sauce” [apex.ai/about](https://www.apex.ai/about).
- **Work Model**: Hybrid – ~2 days on‑site for employees near offices; fully remote options for previously hired distant employees [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/apexai).
- **Global Offices**: Palo Alto (HQ), Berlin, Gothenburg, Munich, Stuttgart.
- **Perks**:
  - Company equity and performance bonuses.
  - Healthcare benefits and family medical leave.
  - Focus on modern software engineering, embedded systems, robotics, and functional safety – challenging technical work.
- **Hiring Process**: Talent Acquisition call → Hiring Manager interview → ~3‑hour interview series (technical + values alignment) [apex.ai/careers](https://www.apex.ai/careers).

## Sources
1. [apex.ai/about](https://www.apex.ai/about)
2. [apex.ai/careers](https://www.apex.ai/careers)
3. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/apexai)
4. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/apexai)
5. [jobs.lever.co/apex-ai](https://jobs.lever.co/apex-ai)

## Other roles at Apex.AI

- [Head of IT and InfoSec](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-it-and-infosec-apex-ai-munich-yzm244vkzc44) — Munich, Germany
- [Senior DevOps Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-devops-engineer-apex-ai-munich-eba6xj1vqjcn) — Munich, Germany
- [Software Engineer — Software Platform & Middleware (Early Career)](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-software-platform-middleware-early-career-apex-ai-munich-2mjewqkrs8hz) — Munich, Germany
- [Senior Software Engineer — Software Platform & Middleware](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-software-platform-middleware-apex-ai-munich-wyphmxbr9qry) — Munich, Germany
- [Application Engineer (Early Career)](https://feeny.ai/job/application-engineer-early-career-apex-ai-munich-fwtqvdb05b41) — Munich, Germany
- [Senior Application Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-application-engineer-apex-ai-munich-62a0sr965f9p) — Munich, Germany