Director of Digital Technology Operations & Innovation

Company Overview If you are passionate about water and technology, Trinnex is the place for you! Trinnex is a visionary company that is transforming the way water resources are managed and protected. By combining cutting-edge digital technologies, such as sensor/IoT data, models, geospatial data, and AI/machine learning, we create innovative, smart, and scalable solutions that make a difference. Whether it's optimizing water supply and demand, detecting leaks and anomalies, or enhancing water quality and resilience, Trinnex delivers value and impact to public sector clients across the country. Job Description To support collaboration and business needs, candidates must currently reside on the East Coast of the United States. Preferred locations include the Boston, MA and Raleigh, NC metropolitan areas, as well as other Northeastern states. Trinnex is seeking a Director of Digital Technology Operations & Innovation to lead the strategy, execution, quality, and technical health of our software engineering organization, for both today's and tomorrow's products and projects. This role is responsible for delivering scalable, secure, and high-quality software solutions while building a high-performing engineering culture grounded in ownership, collaboration, continuous improvement, and strong partnership with Trinnex stakeholders. In addition to overseeing engineering delivery, architecture, and operational excellence, this leader will define and execute the technology strategy for the software engineering organization, ensuring product roadmap commitments and project initiatives are delivered efficiently, securely, and with measurable impact. The Director will guide technical strategy, platform scalability, cybersecurity and regulatory alignment, team development, workforce upskilling, and the adoption of modern engineering practices and cloud-native technologies that improve delivery and business outcomes. This leader will serve as the organization's thought leader for technical innovation, mentoring teams and acting as a trusted advisor as they evaluate and responsibly adopt emerging technologies and AI-powered tools. The role will champion AI-enabled development, intelligent automation, and augmented engineering practices while maintaining strong engineering standards, translating technology trends into practical opportunities that improve delivery, strengthen our product portfolio, and create meaningful competitive differentiation. This responsibility also includes exploring AI-driven cybersecurity, software quality, and geospatial technologies that enhance security, improve reliability, accelerate insights, and expand the value of Trinnex solutions. At Trinnex, you'll help shape the future of digital solutions across water, infrastructure, environmental, and utility markets. You'll lead engineering teams building innovative AI-enabled SaaS products and data-driven technologies that solve complex real-world challenges for clients and communities while advancing the next generation of intelligent, resilient, and scalable digital solutions. Key Responsibilities Engineering Strategy & Delivery Lead engineering execution across software products and client-facing projects, ensuring solutions are delivered on time, within budget, and meet quality, security, scalability, and reliability objectives. Define and execute technology, platform, and architecture strategies that improve product performance, operational efficiency, technical health, and long-term sustainability. Manage engineering priorities, capacity, resource allocation, technical risk, and delivery tradeoffs across a diverse portfolio of initiatives. Partner with Product and business leaders to align engineering investments with strategic priorities, customer needs, and business objectives. Operational Excellence & Engineering Effectiveness Establish engineering standards, governance, metrics, and operating practices that improve software quality, reliability, delivery performance, and operational resilience. Drive continuous improvement through DevSecOps practices, automation, testing strategies, incident management, secure development, and disciplined technical debt management. Monitor and optimize engineering performance through meaningful measures of productivity, quality, stability, customer outcomes, and business value. Ensure compliance with cybersecurity, data protection, AI governance, regulatory requirements, and company policies. Technology Innovation Leadership Serve as Trinnex's leader for engineering innovation, identifying opportunities to apply emerging technologies that improve delivery, accelerate growth, and strengthen competitive advantage. Guide the responsible adoption of AI-powered development tools, intelligent agents, automation capabilities and evolving engineering practices while maintaining strong governance and engineering discipline. Evaluate advancements in cybersecurity, software quality, geospatial technologies, data platforms, and AI-enabled solutions to enhance products, operations, and customer value. Foster a culture of experimentation, learning, and continuous modernization across the engineering organization. Leadership & Talent Development Build, lead, and develop high-performing engineering managers and technical teams through hiring, coaching, mentoring, succession planning, and career development. Create an environment that promotes ownership, accountability, innovation, collaboration, learning, and continuous improvement. Establish clear performance expectations, growth opportunities, and development plans that strengthen both technical and leadership capabilities. Support communities of practice, technical mentorship, and knowledge-sharing initiatives that elevate engineering excellence across the organization. Cross-Functional Partnership Build strong partnerships across Product, Services, GIS, Sales, Delivery, and business functions to improve planning, execution, and customer outcomes. Communicate engineering priorities, roadmaps, risks, tradeoffs, and performance clearly to executive, technical, and business stakeholders. Ensure engineering resources are focused on the highest-value opportunities while balancing customer commitments, strategic initiatives, and operational priorities. Skills & Abilities Engineering & Technology Leadership Proven experience leading software engineering organizations responsible for both product development and project-based delivery. Strong understanding of cloud platforms, software architecture, platform engineering, cybersecurity, DevSecOps, system reliability, and modern software delivery practices. Experience establishing engineering standards, governance frameworks, automation strategies, and operational excellence programs. Artificial Intelligence & Innovation Working knowledge of applied AI, intelligent agents, machine learning operations (MLOps), model governance, and responsible AI practices. Ability to evaluate emerging technologies and translate innovation into practical business value and measurable outcomes. Experience supporting AI-enabled development practices, automation initiatives, and data-driven decision making. Strategic & Commercial Acumen Ability to align engineering strategy with business goals, customer outcomes, revenue objectives, and organizational priorities. Strong decision-making skills with the ability to balance speed, quality, risk, resource constraints, and long‑term technical health. Experience managing complex portfolios, competing priorities, budgets, and organizational change. Leadership & Communication Demonstrated success building high-performing teams and developing engineering leaders. Strong collaboration, stakeholder management, and communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences. Ability to influence decisions through technical expertise, sound judgment, and collaborative leadership. Qualifications Bachelor’s degree. 15 years of related experience with at least 3 of those years in a leadership or management capacity. Domestic and/or international travel may be required. The frequency of travel is contingent on specific duties, responsibilities, and the essential functions of the position, which may vary depending on workload and project demands. Equivalent additional directly related experience will be considered in lieu of a degree. Preferred Qualifications Experience within infrastructure, utilities, environmental services, public‑sector, AEC, or other regulated industries is strongly preferred. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Data Science, Engineering, or related technical field. Experience supporting both product development and project‑based delivery models, including fixed‑price engagements and customer‑facing solutions. Experience with GIS, SCADA, sensor data, data integration, data engineering, analytics, or decision‑support platforms. Familiarity with AI‑enabled software development, intelligent agents, MLOps, model governance, retraining pipelines, and Human‑in‑the‑Loop frameworks. Experience with platform engineering, DevSecOps, engineering governance, and technical communities of practice. Experience improving engineering productivity through process optimization, automation, and cross‑functional collaboration. Experience supporting technical branding, thought leadership, and engineering excellence initiatives. Experience in AEC, infrastructure, environmental, utility, public‑sector, or other regulated industries. Amount of Travel Required 10% or less EEO Statement We attract the best people in the industry, supporting their efforts to learn and grow. We strive to create a challenging and progressive work environment. We provide career opportunities that span a variety of disciplines and geographic locations, with projects that our employees plan, design, build and operate as diverse as the needs of our clients. CDM Smith Inc. and its divisions and subsidiaries are an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, pregnancy related conditions, childbirth and related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression), national origin, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Background Check and Drug Testing Information CDM Smith Inc. and its divisions and subsidiaries (hereafter collectively referred to as \"CDM Smith\") reserves the right to require background checks including criminal, employment, education, licensure, etc. as well as credit and motor vehicle when applicable for certain positions. In addition, CDM Smith may conduct drug testing for designated positions. Background checks are conducted after an offer of employment has been made in the United States. The timing of when background checks will be conducted on candidates for positions outside the United States will vary based on country statutory law but in no case, will the background check precede an interview. CDM Smith will conduct interviews of qualified individuals prior to requesting a criminal background check, and no job application submitted prior to such interview shall inquire into an applicant's criminal history. If this position is subject to a background check for any convictions related to its responsibilities and requirements, employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a background investigation including criminal history. Criminal history will not automatically disqualify a candidate. In addition, during employment individuals may be required by CDM Smith or a CDM Smith client to successfully complete additional background checks, including motor vehicle record as well as drug testing. Massachusetts Applicants It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. Pay Range Min USD $169,270.00 Pay Range Max USD $346,986.00 Additional Pay Range Information CDM Smith is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. This pay range is a good faith estimate representative of all experience levels for the geographic location assigned to the position. In addition to geographic location, a candidate’s salary is determined by several other factors including, but not limited to, the role, function and associated responsibilities, relevant work experience, skills, required certifications, and education/training. Additional Compensation All bonuses at CDM Smith are discretionary and may or may not apply to this position. Visa Sponsorship Available No-We will not support sponsorship in the United States, i.e. H-1B or TN Visas for this position #J-18808-Ljbffr Trinnex