Mobile Applications Team Lead

Location: Tel Aviv (TLV) (IL)

Experience Level: Senior

Description

Kela is a defense technology startup pioneering next-generation command & control and data infrastructure systems. We empower defense organizations with robust, scalable, and secure platforms that integrate diverse sensors and AI to deliver real-time battlefield intelligence. Backed by leading investors, Kela combines Israeli innovation with global mission impact. 

We're looking for a Mobile Applications Team Lead to build, grow, and run the team behind Kela's tactical solutions; the apps that put the Kela Hub's full situational picture into the hands of operators in the field, on the move, and at the edge of the network. 

You'll steer the mobile group: hiring, performance, and delivery. Your team's apps will surface live feeds from drones, cameras, radars, and other sensors on tactical devices that have to work in degraded networks, on the back of a vehicle, and in environments where reliability isn't a nice-to-have. 

This is a leadership role for someone who's already done the hands-on years and now wants to build a team that ships mission-critical software at the standard the mission demands.

Responsibilities

• Build and grow the mobile team — hire, onboard, mentor, and manage performance.
• Own delivery: help plan and own the execution of the mobile roadmap, set milestones, and ship on time without compromising quality.
• Set the bar for engineering culture, code quality, and operational excellence on mobile.
• Provide technical oversight and review architectural decisions, leaning on senior engineers for execution while keeping the team aligned with platform and product direction.
• Partner closely with the Hub Core, platform, and product teams to align on APIs, contracts, and shared roadmaps.
• Translate operational requirements from end users (including military operators and field personnel) into a product roadmap the team can execute against.
• Represent the mobile team across the company: progress report, surface risks early, and advocate for the resources the team needs.
• Drive the processes that mission-critical software demands: release management, testing strategy, observability, and on-device performance.

Requirements

• 5+ years in software engineering, with significant time spent in mobile (Android and/or iOS).
• 2+ years managing mobile or client-side engineering teams, including direct hiring, performance management, and delivery ownership.
• Track record of building and growing teams of mobile engineers.
• Strong technical judgment — you can guide architecture conversations and push back where it matters, even if you're no longer the one writing the code.
• Experience shipping production mobile applications at scale, ideally with real-time, networking, or media-heavy components.
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration skills — you've worked closely with product, design, backend, and platform leadership.
• Disciplined operator: comfortable owning roadmaps, headcount planning, and stakeholder communication.

Nice to have

• Experience leading teams that shipped to ruggedized, embedded, or constrained environments.
• Background in defense, public safety, or other mission-critical domains.
• Familiarity with ATAK/TAK ecosystems or military mobile standards.
• Experience with mapping/GIS, video pipelines, or sensor data on mobile.