Vice President of Autonomy Software

MBN Solutions; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 250,000 - 360,000; Full time

Job summary

MBN Solutions is partnering with an innovative aerospace and defence technology company that is transforming autonomous systems, developing next-generation swarming UAVs and a market-leading Command & Control platform.

Reporting to the CEO, the VP of Software will own the flagship platform, lead strategy, architecture and delivery, and scale the engineering organisation across multiple disciplines to deliver reliable software for demanding real-world environments.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software engineering with leadership experience.
• Experience across SaaS, embedded, distributed systems, or autonomous tech.
• Experience delivering software for real-world systems in safety-critical industries.
• Strong architectural judgement and ability to influence designs.
• Proven track record of building and scaling high-performing engineering teams.
• Ability to thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments.
• Excellent stakeholder management with executive-level interactions.
• Passion for leveraging AI to improve engineering effectiveness.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute software strategy, roadmap and architecture.
• Lead multidisciplinary engineering, product and design teams.
• Collaborate with executives, customers and stakeholders.
• Drive engineering excellence in development, architecture and testing.
• Establish scalable processes and delivery frameworks.
• Recruit, mentor and retain software talent.
• Foster feedback between engineering and field deployments.
• Represent software in customer engagements and reviews.
• Champion AI-enabled practices to improve productivity and quality.

Skills

Leadership

Software architecture

Executive communication

Stakeholder management

AI in engineering

Tools

ROS

PX4

Job description

MBN Solutions is partnering with an innovative aerospace and defence technology company that is transforming the future of autonomous systems. Our client is developing next-generation swarming UAV technology alongside a market-leading Command & Control platform designed to coordinate thousands of autonomous assets in complex operational environments.

Backed by an exceptional leadership team with deep expertise across aerospace, defence and high-growth technology businesses, the organisation is entering a significant phase of expansion and is seeking an experienced VP of Software to lead its software function.

The Opportunity

Reporting directly to the CEO, the VP of Software will take ownership of the company's flagship Command & Control software platform, leading strategy, architecture, delivery and organisational growth across multiple engineering disciplines.

This is a highly visible executive position, offering the opportunity to shape both the technical direction of a cutting-edge product and the future of a rapidly scaling engineering organisation.

You'll lead multidisciplinary teams spanning autonomy, mission software, embedded systems, full-stack engineering, product management, UX/design and forward-deployed engineering, ensuring the successful delivery of software that operates reliably in demanding real-world environments.

Key Responsibilities

• Define and execute the software strategy, technical roadmap and architecture for the company's flagship platform.
• Lead and develop multidisciplinary engineering, product and design teams, creating a high-performance engineering culture.
• Partner closely with executive leadership, customers and technical stakeholders to shape product direction and long-term strategy.
• Drive engineering excellence across software development, architecture, testing, deployment and operational reliability.
• Establish scalable engineering processes, delivery frameworks and organisational structure to support continued growth.
• Recruit, mentor and retain exceptional software engineering talent.
• Build strong feedback loops between engineering teams and field deployments to continuously improve product performance.
• Represent the software organisation during customer engagements, technical reviews and strategic discussions.
• Champion the adoption of modern AI-enabled engineering practices to improve productivity and software quality.

About You

We're looking for an accomplished software leader who combines technical credibility with proven executive leadership experience.

You'll likely bring:

• 10+ years' experience in software engineering, including at least 4 years leading multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• A strong background spanning several software domains including SaaS platforms, embedded software, distributed systems or autonomous technologies.
• Experience delivering software that interacts with real-world systems, ideally within aerospace, robotics, defence, automotive autonomy or other safety-critical industries.
• Strong architectural judgement with the ability to review technical designs, influence engineering decisions and maintain high technical standards.
• A proven track record of building, scaling and leading high-performing engineering organisations.
• The ability to thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments while balancing speed, quality and reliability.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with experience working directly alongside executive leadership and customers.
• A passion for leveraging emerging AI technologies to improve engineering effectiveness.

The following would be advantageous but are not essential:

• Autonomous systems, robotics or unmanned vehicle platforms.
• Multi-agent or swarm software architectures.
• Defence, government or regulated technology environments.
• Experience with ROS, PX4 or real-time embedded software.
• Previous startup or founder experience.