Director of Software

Opportunity

As Director of Software, you will own software execution end to end across autonomy, mission planning (SkyNav), and internal tooling that supports flight operations and production aircraft. This hands‑on leadership role includes setting the technical direction and roadmap, building and developing the team, and staying close enough to the code to tackle hard problems yourself. You will collaborate with flight, hardware and operations to translate real‑world constraints and operator feedback into field‑ready software.

What You’ll Do

• Own software execution and roadmap across autonomy, SkyNav, and internal tools that support aircraft flying today
• Build, lead, and develop the software team, including hiring, performance, growth, and the tech‑lead or management layer as the team scales
• Own org design for software and be accountable for delivery, team health, and the software budget
• Act as a player‑coach: write code, review code, and take on hard problems when needed
• Set technical direction through shipped systems and measurable outcomes
• Work directly with operators and customers to iterate based on live deployments and field feedback
• Partner tightly with hardware, flight, and manufacturing to ensure software and aircraft evolve together
• Improve reliability, performance, and maintainability as the fleet and customer base scale

What You’ll Bring

• Proven experience shipping and supporting complex production software systems
• Experience leading and developing software teams, including hiring and growing engineers while staying close to technical work
• Experience with autonomy, robotics, or mission planning systems
• Strong systems thinking across autonomy, frontend, backend, and infrastructure
• Comfort operating in environments where software meets hardware and real‑world constraints
• Bias toward execution, ownership, and accountability
• Hands‑on experience building with Python, C++, and JavaScript

Bonus Points

• Experience supporting software on production hardware, flight systems, or safety‑critical systems
• Startup experience scaling teams and systems while things are still evolving
• Hands‑on experience building with ROS, ElectronJS, Ardupilot, or Mavlink

Due to U.S. government contract requirements, this role is limited to U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, or candidates from specific countries authorized under applicable export control regulations.

Skyways is an Equal Opportunity employer committed to diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, or any other factor protected by applicable local, state or federal laws.