Manager, Mission Systems Software

AeroVironment•San Diego, CA

2d•$141,000 - $215,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Manager, Mission Systems Software, leads a large, multi-site team of software engineers building the onboard mission systems software for uncrewed aircraft, including vision-based navigation, autonomy, cooperative behaviors, and flight software. As a member of the Engineering management team, the Manager scales and develops the team through rapid growth, participates in defining and executing the software development strategy, budget, and program commitments, and partners with the Software Chief Engineer on technical direction.

Requirements

BS degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related is required or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
12+ years of software engineering experience, with a strong background in embedded, robotics, or mission systems software development
At least 4+ years in a management or technical lead role, successfully leading a software team of 15 or more engineers
Demonstrated success building and scaling a software team through a period of rapid growth
Experience delivering flight-critical or mission-critical software through a full development lifecycle, from requirements through integration, test, and deployment
Experienced with modern development and CI/CD tooling (e.g., Git/GitLab, CI pipelines, containerization) and Linux environments
Demonstrated ability to work across software, systems, GNC, and program teams to deliver on program and customer milestones
U.S. Citizen, U.S. Permanent Resident (Green Card holder) or asylee/refugee status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) required.
Must be willing to work on government contracts and have the ability to obtain a security clearance.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree is desired
Background delivering software for UAS, drones, robotics, autonomous systems, or other defense or aerospace platforms is a strong plus
Familiarity with mission systems domains such as computer vision, machine learning, autonomy, or GNC is a plus
Familiarity with real-time flight software and robotics/autonomy software frameworks is a plus
Familiarity with open-systems and airworthiness standards (e.g., MOSA, FACE, DO-178) is a plus
Experience leading a distributed or multi-site team in a defense technology or fast-paced product environment is a plus
Prior experience or clearance eligibility to support work in a controlled or cleared environment is a plus
Demonstrates competency in communicating technically and effectively across software, systems, GNC, and program groups and staff
Skilled at identifying, communicating and mitigating technical risks and issues
Embraces AI-assisted development tooling and encourages its adoption to improve team efficiency and quality
Demonstrates strong interpersonal, written and oral communication skills
Exercises independent judgment in methods, techniques and evaluation criteria for obtaining results
Uses vision to think beyond the immediate situation, explore multiple potential paths, and adapt decision-making style based on the situational circumstances
Inspires, motivates, and empowers people to deliver organizational goals, while also delivering value back to employees
Brings organizational values to life using personality, uniqueness and the creation of a shared vision
Champions the process of change and promotes a culture of quick adaptation while helping others deal with the effects of change
Demonstrates the ability to develop and maintain internal and external trusting, professional relationships
Assesses the degree of risk and opportunity in plans or actions and takes appropriate action to mitigate them or makes plans to build on the opportunity

Responsibilities

Manages a large, multi-site group of software engineers, including budget planning, staffing, training, performance evaluation and career development. Attracts and retains high caliber staff and provides mentorship
Scales the team through rapid growth: drives hiring, onboarding, and the development of engineers into senior contributors and leads to keep pace with expanding program demand
Partners with the Software Chief Engineer to shape the mission systems software roadmap and priorities, spanning vision-based navigation, autonomy, cooperative behaviors, and onboard flight software
Plans, coordinates, and directs software development projects across multiple programs
Works in an Agile environment to coordinate software development including scope, scheduling, resourcing, and block/release planning
Champions software quality through design reviews, requirements-based testing, code coverage, and disciplined branching and release practices
Guides the reuse of common software across programs to reduce sustainment burden and accelerate delivery
Partners with systems engineering, GNC, hardware, test, and program teams to align software with system requirements and integration and flight-test milestones
Frequently interacts with subordinate supervisors, customers and/or functional peer group managers, normally involving matters between functional areas
Establishes and assures adherence to budgets, schedules and work plans. Interacts with senior management
Other duties as assigned