Director, Software Engineering — Lead Defense Systems

Energy Jobline ZR; Verona Beach (NY); On-site; USD 189,000 - 255,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, vision, and dental insurance

Generous paid time off including 8 hol

401(k) with employer contributions

Tuition assistance and student loan

Wellness and employee assistance

Employee stock purchase opportunities

Short-term and long-term coverage

Job summary

Saab, Inc. in East Syracuse, NY, seeks a Director of Software Engineering to shape and scale a growing software and cybersecurity organization. You will lead engineers and managers to deliver high‑quality software products while aligning technical work with program goals.

You will own staffing, budgets, risk management, and delivery across multiple programs, drive best practices, foster a high‑performing culture, and ensure compliance with security and regulatory requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or related discipline. Master’s degree.
• 18+ years of experience in a technical/engineering environment with at least 5+ years in a leadership role focused on engineering management and leading other people managers.
• Preference for Aerospace and Defense experience.
• Strong understanding of the product development lifecycle, software engineering principles, anti-tamper cybersecurity and functional execution in regulated industries.
• Demonstrated experience contributing to and aligning engineering strategy and execution with broader business and programmatic goals.
• Experience shaping organizational direction through technical leadership, innovation, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Ability to lead through ambiguity, anticipating change, mitigating risk, and making sound high impact decisions.
• Deep expertise in software development, especially object-oriented design, UML, and embedded systems.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate complex technical concepts for diverse audiences.
• Willingness to travel up to 10% in support of program and business efforts.
• Ability to obtain a Secret level clearance.

Responsibilities

• Lead, develop, and scale the Software Engineering organization, focusing on meeting technical, program, and business objectives.
• Partner with senior leadership to translate business strategy into actionable software engineering plans and ensure consistent execution across the software engineering function.
• Drive software engineering organizational planning and execution including staffing, budgeting, and resource alignment, ensuring readiness to support multiple programs, customers, and development efforts.
• Direct solution cybersecurity posture, leading teams to balance cost, security, usability, and compliance.
• Ensure accountability for creation of accurate cost and schedule targets, and execution of technical effort in accordance with those targets.
• Responsible for cost estimating activities related to contract proposals, IR&RD, Capital, and assigned overhead budgets.
• Recruit, retain, and assign engineering talent to meet evolving organizational and timeline needs, ensuring teams and programs are properly staffed with the right skills.
• Manage the annual performance review process, compensation reviews, and career development process for the software engineering organization.
• Build organizational capability by developing both management and technical talent through various training opportunities, job related work that promotes continuous growth, knowledge-sharing across teams, and development planning.
• Provide technical oversight, guidance, mentorship and coaching to assigned personnel in the performance of their assigned tasks.
• Develop technical solutions, assess technical risk and identify risk mitigation strategies within assigned discipline.
• Collaborate with the Engineering Leadership Team to identify areas for opportunity and growth, drive continuous improvement, and implement best practices to enhance engineering performance.
• Foster a high-performing culture of accountability, innovation, and collaboration.

Skills

Software engineering leadership

communication skills

C/C++

Java

UML

Embedded systems

Object-oriented design

Agile/Waterfall/Spiral

Team development

Risk management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering or related discipline

Master’s degree

Tools

VS Code

DOORS

Git

SVN

PTC Integrity Modeler

Job description

Saab, Inc. in East Syracuse, NY, seeks a Director of Software Engineering to shape and scale a growing software and cybersecurity organization. You will lead engineers and managers to deliver high‑quality software products while aligning technical work with program goals.

You will own staffing, budgets, risk management, and delivery across multiple programs, drive best practices, foster a high‑performing culture, and ensure compliance with security and regulatory requirements.