Divisional Director, Engineering

Senstar; Ottawa; On-site; CAD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Senstar seeks a senior engineering leader to own the full breadth of hardware and embedded sensor development for the perimeter intrusion detection portfolio. You will drive end-to-end delivery, guide a multi-site team, and partner with the systems architect to shape the technology roadmap from concept through release and field support.

The role reports to the CTO and requires hands-on leadership, credibility with senior specialists, and a track record of building high-performing, motivated

Qualifications

• Senior engineering leadership with responsibility for hardware and embedded software delivery.
• Experience delivering end-to-end products across concept, design, verification, release and field support.
• Proven ability to grow managers, lead senior ICs, and collaborate with architects.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end delivery of sensor product portfolio across hardware and embedded software.
• Lead an engineering organization including managers and senior individual contributors.
• Drive next-generation perimeter intrusion detection platform while sustaining fielded products.
• Balance new development with sustaining engineering and manufacturing support.
• Partner with systems architect and own planning, estimation, and staffing.
• Establish engineering standards and delivery discipline for hardware and software.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Hardware & software

Sensor domain knowledge

Multi-site leadership

Education

Bachelor's in CS/Engineering

Tools

Project management tools

Job description

Senstar has been safeguarding people, places, and property for more than 45 years, and today stands as the world's leading provider of perimeter intrusion detection and video management solutions, building the broadest security portfolio in the industry (fiber optic and buried sensors, AI powered video analytics, access control) designed, manufactured, and tested in North America. With over 50,000 kilometers of perimeter sensors deployed and more than 25,000 video management installations across 100-plus countries, and backed by three dedicated R&D centers, the world's largest private test facility of its kind, and a global network of service centers and partners, Senstar protects the critical infrastructure, energy, corrections, transportation, and logistics sites that keep the world moving, detecting threats early and cutting risk for organizations everywhere.

Scope of the Position

This is a senior leadership role responsible for the full breadth of Senstar's engineering organization: the hardware and embedded sensor team behind the perimeter intrusion detection portfolio. The leader will own end to end delivery across custom hardware, embedded software, signal processing, and will report directly to the Chief Technology Officer.

This is a hands-on, motivational leadership role for someone who can build credibility with senior specialists who can shape the organization into a high performing, energetic, and motivated group that drives the technology roadmap and participates at the executive level.

The Team

The combined organization totals roughly a dozen people. The sensor engineering group including an embedded software development manager, senior hardware and RF or optical design engineers, verification staff, and a design services function. The leader will also partner, through influence rather than direct authority, with a principal systems architect who holds cross-system design authority for the sensor line.

Key Responsibilities

Sensor Hardware and Embedded Engineering

• Own end to end delivery of the sensor product portfolio across hardware design, embedded software, signal processing, and verification
• Lead an engineering organization that includes development managers, senior individual contributors, and early career staff
• Drive execution of the next-generation perimeter intrusion detection platform while sustaining and supporting fielded products through long product lifecycles
• Balance new product development against sustaining engineering, field escalations, and manufacturing support, making the trade-offs explicit
• Partner with the systems architect who owns cross-system design authority for the sensor line; the architect is accountable for the design itself, while this leader is accountable for delivery, staffing, and execution
• Own planning and roadmap commitments with Product Management, including estimation, resourcing, and make-or-buy decisions
• Oversee the design services and documentation interface into manufacturing, including design-for-manufacture and regulatory or compliance requirements
• Own quality outcomes for the sensor line, including escalation and resolution of complex field issues spanning hardware, firmware, and installation environments
• Establish engineering standards, design review practices, and delivery discipline across hardware and embedded software

Organizational and People Leadership

• Develop people deliberately: coach a first-time development manager, progress a technical lead toward formal team leadership, and advance early-career engineers into independent development roles
• Manage senior, long-tenured individual contributors who need technical engagement and prioritization rather than close supervision
• Lead across sites, since both the engineering team and the customer base are distributed
• Coach direct reports on cultivating and enhancing strong relationships with key customers
• Collaborate with other engineering managers on a common vision across products and solutions
• Serve as a trusted point of contact for internal Sales and Marketing teams on product functionality, competitive comparisons, and implementations
• Recruit and retain senior engineering talent in competitive hardware and software markets

Job Requirements

• Proven engineering leadership across both hardware and software disciplines, including managing other managers, within an organization of comparable scale
• Deep technical grounding in at least one core sensor domain (embedded systems, signal processing, RF, electro-optics/photonics, or electronics design), or equivalent, sufficient to hold credibility with senior specialists on either side
• Experience delivering products end to end, from concept through design, verification, certification or release, and field support A track record of developing engineers and managers, including growing first-time managers, technical leads, and early-career staff
• Demonstrated ability to lead senior individual contributors and to work effectively alongside architect-level peers who are not direct reports
• Experience leading distributed or multi-site engineering teams
• Strong delivery and planning discipline, including estimation, prioritization, and predictable execution across parallel hardware and software work streams
• A degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, with seven to ten years of experience leading technology product development and product architecture

Nice to Have

• Experience with perimeter security, physical security, defence, or other safety- and security-critical products
• Experience with fiber-optic sensing, distributed acoustic sensing, radar/microwave detection, or similar sensing technologies
• Familiarity with regulatory certification for electronic products (for example, CE, FCC, UL) and design-for-manufacture practices
• Experience with Scrum and other Agile methodologies

Competency Profile

Motivating

Encourages others by creating enthusiasm, a feeling of investment, and a desire to excel; inspires others to follow and recognizes positive contributions.

Imagines future possibilities, thinks broadly, investigates a wide range of alternatives, and communicates a clear vision to others.

Results Orientation

Focuses strongly on achieving agreed-upon outcomes, conveys a sense of urgency, and drives issues to closure.

Leading Change

Recognizes when change is necessary, challenges the status quo, and develops effective action plans to carry it out.