Director, Research and Development

Harris Computer•Remote - Georgia, GA

2d•$125,000 - $135,000

About The Position

The Director, Research and Development defines and executes the technology and development strategy for the LocalGov business unit, leading software development across eight product lines and approximately 40 or more development professionals. The role advances teams along the Harris AI-SDLC maturity model, from AI-assisted and AI-directed work to supervised agentic delivery, while establishing the governance, validation, security review, and quality controls needed to use AI-generated code safely. It also calls for daily, hands-on use of AI development tools and practical leadership on their capabilities and limitations. The Director leads modernization across IBM i, RPG, COBOL, and modern technology platforms while protecting customer stability and business continuity. The role establishes engineering standards, methodologies, governance, outcome-based KPIs, and multi-year product and technology roadmaps; aligns development priorities with customer and business needs; and oversees capacity planning, resource allocation, and prioritization. It also leads cloud adoption, customer-facing AI and automation initiatives, and maintains appropriate architecture, security, compliance, and technical governance. The position builds and mentors engineering leaders and technical teams, develops AI training and tooling, and creates succession and knowledge-preservation strategies for legacy technology skills. It serves as the executive escalation point for critical development issues and strategic customer initiatives, manages the R&D operating expense forecast and reporting, and attends key customer events in markets with large-scale development activity. Success is measured by AI-SDLC maturity, team capability, continuity and succession depth, talent retention, modernization progress, financial performance, and cross-functional relationships.

Requirements

10 or more years of progressive software development leadership experience.
5 or more years leading managers, technical leaders, and software development teams in a multi-product software organization.
Demonstrated experience leading modernization initiatives involving legacy and modern technology platforms.
Experience managing geographically distributed development teams and cross-functional technical organizations.
Strong understanding of software development lifecycles, Agile methodologies, and engineering best practices.
Experience with enterprise software delivery, product strategy, and technical roadmap development.
Ability to align technology investments and development priorities with business objectives and customer needs.
Demonstrated experience driving organizational change and technology transformation initiatives.
Experience implementing or leading AI-assisted development practices, automation initiatives, or engineering productivity improvements.
Demonstrated hands-on daily use of AI development tools and a clear understanding of their strengths, limitations, and changing capabilities.
Experience moving an engineering organization from individual AI assistance toward agentic, human-on-the-loop delivery, including appropriate governance and validation.
Exceptional communication, organizational, stakeholder-management, and executive-leadership skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience with IBM i, AS400, RPG, COBOL, or legacy platform modernization initiatives.
Experience with local government, public sector, ERP, tax, financial, records management, or government technology solutions.
Experience with AI-assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot, Project Bob, large language models, or similar technologies.
Experience establishing engineering KPIs, delivery metrics, and AI adoption measurement programs.
Experience leading engineering organizations through large-scale modernization or digital transformation efforts.
Familiarity with cloud technologies, APIs, automation frameworks, and modern application architectures.
Experience building and scaling high-performing engineering teams across multiple product lines.
Experience integrating AI into engineering workflows, customer solutions, or business operations.
Experience with Jira, DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and modern software delivery methodologies.
MBA, advanced technical experience, or equivalent executive leadership experience.

Responsibilities

Define and execute the technology and development strategy for the LocalGov business unit.
Lead and oversee software development activities across eight product lines and approximately 40 or more development professionals.
Advance development teams through the Harris AI-SDLC maturity model, toward supervised agentic delivery.
Use AI development tools personally and daily, and champion their practical use across the organization.
Establish governance for delegated agent work, including review gates, validation, and security review of AI-generated code.
Make codebases and delivery pipelines accessible to AI agents through documentation, test coverage, CI/CD, and structured context.
Apply AI to the IBM i and RPG estate for legacy code comprehension, documentation generation, and modernization analysis.
Lead modernization across IBM i, RPG, COBOL, and modern technology platforms while preserving customer stability and business continuity.
Establish engineering standards, development methodologies, and governance processes to improve quality, predictability, and delivery performance.
Partner with Product Management, Client Services, Professional Services, Sales, and business-unit leadership to align development priorities with customer and business needs.
Develop and maintain multi-year product and technology roadmaps across the LocalGov portfolio.
Build, develop, and mentor engineering leaders and technical teams, fostering accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Oversee development capacity planning, resource allocation, and prioritization across initiatives and product lines.
Establish and monitor outcome-based KPIs, including cycle time, throughput, escaped defects and escalations, delivery predictability, customer satisfaction, and development cost as a percentage of revenue; report AI delivery maturity and outcomes on a recurring executive cadence.
Own the AI delivery-maturity roadmap across all eight product lines and deliver against maturity targets agreed with executive leadership.
Build tooling and training to move engineers from AI-assisted work to AI-directed work and supervised agent execution, providing access and time for learning.
Lead strategic modernization and transformation initiatives, including cloud adoption, customer-facing AI solutions, and automation.
Ensure appropriate architecture, security, compliance, and technical governance across products.
Serve as the executive escalation point for critical development issues and strategic customer initiatives.
Develop succession planning and knowledge-preservation strategies for aging legacy technology skillsets.
Manage the R&D department OpEx financial forecast, including monthly updates, reporting on Monthly Business Unit Review Calls, and participation in the Annual Business Strategy Meeting.
Attend key customer events in markets where large-scale development motions are occurring.