Director of Software Engineering

ThinKom Solutions; Hawthorne (CA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Disability

Life

401k Matching (4%)

PTO

Paid Holidays

Bonus Plan

Job summary

ThinKom Solutions, based in Hawthorne, CA, seeks a Director of Software Engineering to lead architecture, design, and delivery across multiple software teams for high-performance connectivity systems.

The role drives strategic planning, governance, and talent development, ensuring secure, scalable software while meeting DoD and export-control requirements. Strong leadership and system-level thinking are essential.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in CS/CE/EE or equivalent industry experience.
• 10+ years of professional software development experience, with at least 5 years in a leadership or management role.
• Experience with embedded software coding, algorithms, and SW requirements.

Responsibilities

• Provide inspirational leadership to SW Development, SW QA, and SW DevOps teams, using Agile practices.
• Oversee software architecture, design, integration, and test across products.
• Ensure release integrity, configuration management, and traceability across programs.
• Drive process and quality improvements, tool adoption (Jira, Confluence), and governance.

Skills

Embedded software

C/C++

Java

Linux

Python

Agile

Config management

Release governance

ITAR/EAR

Education

BS or MS in CS/CE/EE

Job description

Build the Future of High-Performance Connectivity

At ThinKom, we don’t just build antennas - we design high-performance, next-generation mechanical systems that connect the world across air, land, sea, and space. From Inflight Connectivity (IFC) to High-Power Microwave (HPM) systems to Defense SATCOM, our technology operates in some of the world’s most demanding environments.

We foster a collaborative culture that values innovation, technical excellence, continuous learning, and professional growth. If you're looking for an opportunity to solve complex engineering challenges while helping shape the future of advanced antenna and electromagnetic technologies,

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director of Software Engineering is a key leadership role responsible for the overall technical direction, strategic planning, and execution of the company's software development initiatives. Supported by technical leads and project managers, this leader will drive software design, project execution, shape product strategy, and manage team growth, ensuring our software products and the engineering organization continue to scale effectively while delivering mature, high-quality, and maintainable systems. Building on a capable, high-performing team and strong delivery momentum, this role is chartered to strengthen and formalize the department’s governance, delivery, and quality processes as the organization continues to scale.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Leadership & Personnel Management

• Provide inspirational leadership and mentorship to the SW Development, SW Quality Assurance and SW DevOps teams.
• Set clear performance expectations, conduct regular evaluations, and foster a collaborative, high-performance team culture, leveraging Agile development methodologies.
• Be involved in all aspects of talent management and team building.
• Oversee development of program plan estimates and drive teams to meet the plan.
• Ensure adequate allocation of resources to support the simultaneous execution of multiple programs and product lines.
• Establish clear organizational structure, roles, and decision-making authority across the software organization.
• Build organizational resilience through cross-training, documentation, and succession planning to reduce key-person dependencies.

Technical Strategy & Oversight

• Develop and champion the long-term approach for software architecture and design and utilization of AI in software development across all products, ensuring new tools and technologies meet applicable security and export-control requirements.
• Provide effective and efficient design support through the conceptual design, detailed design, integration, and test phases of the software development lifecycle.
• Prepare and present design, analysis, and test case summary materials for both internal and external design reviews.
• Oversee the development, integration, and testing of complex system software.
• Own end-to-end release integrity, ensuring disciplined configuration management, build traceability, and consistent, and repeatable acceptance and release processes.

Process & Quality Improvement

• Drive continuous improvement initiatives in software development processes, utilization of AI in software development, tooling (e.g., Jira, Confluence), and product quality. Including, developing the business case for significant tooling and infrastructure investments.
• Monitor project progress, making timely adjustments to assignments and team structure to ensure on-time completion of assigned tasks.
• Ensure all software designs and development activities adhere to company procedures, SW Security protocols, and corporate policies.
• Establish and enforce objective quality gates within the development pipeline, and maintain program-level visibility into software cost and schedule performance.

Business & Program Support

• Support business development activities by providing technical leadership and assistance during proposal efforts.
• Own the requirements interface with Systems Engineering, ensuring incoming work is clearly defined and adequately specified before being accepted as software tasks.
• Oversee documentation of software designs, system integration, data collection, and product support as required.

WHAT YOU BRING

Must-Haves

• BS or MS in CS/CE/EE or equivalent industry experience.
• 10+ years of professional software development experience, with at least 5 years in a technical leadership or management role, including demonstrated experience leading a software organization through a process/quality maturity uplift.
• Extensive experience with embedded software coding, algorithm development, and definition of SW requirements.
• Experience in C, C++, Java, Linux, MATLAB, Python, Bash and other object-oriented programming languages.
• Experience in Agile Development process.
• Demonstrated experience establishing or operating formal configuration-management and release-governance processes.
• Experience operating within ITAR/EAR and export-controlled or similarly regulated environments.
• Experience in writing detailed test plans and procedures.
• Technically proficient in MS Office products.
• U.S. Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (Green Card holder) required to hold a U.S. DoD Security Clearance in support of U.S. Government contracts.

WORKING CONDITIONS & PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Typical office and lab/manufacturing environments.
• Ability to lift or move prototype equipment up to 40 lbs on occasion.
• Comfortable working near testing setups that may involve elevated noise levels, hazardous materials, chemicals, or electromagnetic energy.
• Willingness to travel up to 5% for vendor visits, customer reviews, or off-site testing.

Salary Range $170,000 - $220,000

ThinKom offer generous benefits including:

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Disability
• Life
• 401k Matching (4%)
• PTO
• paid Holidays
• Bonus Plan.

ThinKom Solutions is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer.

ThinKom Solutions is a Drug and Alcohol free working environment with a zero-tolerance policy.