Americas Head of Engineering — AI-Driven Autonomy Leader

Advanced Navigation; Huntsville (AL); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Advanced Navigation seeks a Head of Engineering, Americas to lead the US engineering team and scale the Americas portfolio while aligning with the global product core.

You will own end-to-end delivery across Systems, Hardware, Electronics and Software, recruit and mentor a multidisciplinary team, ensure compliance with SSA/ITAR/EAR, and drive AI-enabled development within a fast-paced, highly regulated environment.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of Engineering Leadership leading multidisciplinary teams (Systems, Hardware, Software) to deliver complex, field-deployed systems.
• 5+ years in product-centric organizations with hands-on product discovery, design thinking, iterative delivery, and product ownership in the defense domain.
• Demonstrated experience with AI-augmented development tooling (LLM-based coding assistants, AI prototyping platforms) and agentic development workflows.
• Domain depth in navigation, GNSS, PNT, robotics, autonomous systems, or related precision-technology domains; familiarity with US defense, maritime, or energy regulatory markets is advantageous.
• Founder/greenfield experience: ability to build teams, practices, and products from the ground up in new geographies or business units.
• Proven cross-functional leadership and ability to operate across time zones within a globally coordinated organization.
• Inspired leadership with a clear, human-centered approach and the ability to map long-term objectives to concrete roadmaps.
• Strong conflict resolution skills balancing engineering rigor with commercial urgency and regulatory priorities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with technical and executive stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Establish Advanced Navigation Americas' engineering presence from the first hire and define team structure, hiring requirements, and multidisciplinary culture.
• Hold end-to-end ownership for the Americas engineering portfolio, including roadmap development, delivery execution, and budget management across R&D.
• Champion AI-native development practices to drive productivity and modern engineering workflows.
• Own the full development lifecycle for US-focused product add-ons from design through delivery, release, and post-launch improvement, ensuring hardware-software integration.
• Set R&D metrics aligned with global mission and ensure work supports the global product strategy within SSA/ITAR/EAR constraints.
• Connect Engineering, Product Management, Business Development, and Customer Support to deliver commercially credible and technically solid solutions.
• Collaborate with Sydney-based product teams across Navigation Solutions, Software Platforms, Robotics, Inertial, and Acoustics.
• Recruit, onboard, mentor, and retain a high-talent-density US engineering team and build a sustainable, world-class organization.

Skills

Engineering Leadership

Product-Centric Mindset

AI & Automation

GNSS/PPP Domain Depth

Founder/Greenfield Experience

Team Leadership

Strategic Planning

Conflict Resolution

Advanced Communication

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Education

MSc or advanced degree in Software, Electrical, or Systems Engineering

Job description

Advanced Navigation seeks a Head of Engineering, Americas to lead the US engineering team and scale the Americas portfolio while aligning with the global product core.

You will own end-to-end delivery across Systems, Hardware, Electronics and Software, recruit and mentor a multidisciplinary team, ensure compliance with SSA/ITAR/EAR, and drive AI-enabled development within a fast-paced, highly regulated environment.