Vice President, Software

Saildrone • Alameda, CA

40d • $275,000 - $350,000

About The Position

Saildrone is seeking a Vice President of Software to join our Software organization. Reporting directly to the CEO, you will play a critical role in defining and executing Saildrone’s software strategy and delivering mission-critical software systems that power autonomous maritime operations. You will shape the technical direction of the company while ensuring reliable, scalable, and secure software across autonomy, data, cloud, and customer-facing platforms supporting defense, government, and commercial missions. We are looking for a senior technology leader who creates clarity from complexity, sets technical direction under uncertainty, and drives execution in high-stakes operational environments, balancing long-term strategy with rigorous delivery of production-ready systems.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 15+ years of experience in software engineering, including significant leadership of complex, multidisciplinary organizations.
• Demonstrated success delivering mission-critical, distributed, autonomous, or defense-adjacent systems at scale.
• Deep technical fluency across modern software architectures, autonomy, embedded systems, data platforms, cloud infrastructure, and real-time or distributed systems.
• Proven ability to analyze complex technical and organizational challenges, make high-stakes decisions under ambiguity, and drive execution in fast-moving environments.
• Ability to clearly communicate technical strategy, risks, and tradeoffs to executive leadership, cross-functional partners, and technical teams.
• Working knowledge of security, reliability, and compliance considerations relevant to defense, government, autonomous systems, or critical infrastructure environments.
• Executive presence with the ability to influence technical and non-technical stakeholders and align technology strategy with business and mission objectives.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Execution: Define and execute a multi-year software strategy and roadmap that directly supports Saildrone’s defense, government, and commercial mission objectives, while meeting reliability, security, and delivery standards.
• End-to-End Ownership: Be accountable for the full software lifecycle across autonomy, embedded systems, data, cloud, and application platforms supporting autonomous maritime operations, including architecture, development, deployment, and sustained operations.
• System Reliability & Scale: Ensure defense-grade reliability, security, and performance of software systems, maintaining production readiness for global maritime deployments and mission-critical use cases.
• Cross-Functional Delivery: Work closely with Hardware, Product, Security, Operations, and TPM teams to align priorities, de-risk dependencies, and deliver tightly integrated systems that translate technical capabilities into operational mission outcomes.
• Engineering Excellence: Drive consistent adoption of modern engineering practices, including automated testing, observability, and security-by-design, to institutionalize predictable, high-quality software delivery for autonomous and defense-critical systems.
• Executive Decision Support: Provide the CEO and executive leadership with clear, data-driven tradeoffs between speed, capability, risk, scalability, and operational readiness in mission-critical contexts.
• Organizational Leadership: Establish a culture of accountability, ownership, collaboration, and engineering excellence across a multidisciplinary software organization spanning autonomy, embedded systems, data, cloud, and applications.

Benefits

• Generous Time Off: Competitive Paid Time Off (PTO) accrual plus a robust annual holiday schedule and paid sick leave ensure you can rest, reset, and sustain performance over time.
• Comprehensive Health Coverage: Premium, multi-tier Medical, Dental, and Vision plans with significant company contributions for employees and dependents—providing security and peace of mind.
• Shared Ownership in the Mission: Equity grants are a core part of our compensation, allowing you to participate in the long-term value you help create through meaningful, operational work.
• Retirement Savings: Access to a 401(k) retirement plan with flexible pre-tax and Roth payroll contribution options supports long-term financial planning.
• Investment in Your Growth: We support your continuous learning through an annual professional development reimbursement program, empowering you to sharpen your skills and stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving field.
• Relocation Support: For eligible roles, we offer relocation assistance to help bring the world’s best talent to our mission-critical locations.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive