Director of Software Engineering

Director of Software Engineering, Autonomy $285,000 - $320,000 + equity About the Role A leading autonomy/robotics company to find their next Director of Software Engineering, Autonomy - the leader who will run the software organization behind the autonomy stack: the systems that let the platform perceive, decide, and act safely in the real world. This is a senior technical leadership role for someone who can set architecture direction at a high level while staying credible on the details: perception pipelines, planning and decision-making, and the safety-critical software that has to work every time. The successful candidate will lead a multi-team organization spanning perception, planning/controls, and safety/validation software, and will be a key technical voice in how our client thinks about autonomy readiness and deployment risk. What You'll Do Set the technical vision and roadmap for the autonomy software stack, from perception and sensor fusion through planning, decision-making, and safety validation. Lead and scale a multi-team software organization (typically 15-30+ engineers across several sub-teams and their managers). Own the balance between shipping velocity and safety rigor - this role is accountable for both. Drive the software safety case and validation strategy in partnership with systems safety and V&V teams (ISO 26262, SOTIF, or equivalent). Partner with hardware, product, and operations leadership to align the software roadmap with deployment and commercial milestones. Recruit, mentor, and develop engineering managers and senior ICs within the autonomy org. What Our Client Is Looking For 10+ years of software engineering experience in autonomous systems, robotics, or ADAS/AV, including 5+ years leading multi-team software organizations. Deep technical background in at least two of: perception/sensor fusion, planning and controls software, safety-critical embedded software, or autonomy systems architecture. Direct experience with functional safety standards relevant to autonomy (ISO 26262, ISO 21448/SOTIF, DO-178C, or similar), including building or contributing to a safety case. Strong software engineering fundamentals - C++, real-time systems, and experience with the kind of large-scale software architecture that autonomy stacks require. A track record of shipping autonomy software that made it out of the lab and into real-world operation. Excellent cross-functional communication - this role sits at the intersection of engineering, safety, and the business. Nice to Have Experience with radar, lidar, or camera-based sensor fusion specifically. Background at an AV, robotics, or advanced-mobility company that went through a safety certification or regulatory approval process. Experience presenting technical safety/readiness cases to executives, regulators, or customers. #J-18808-Ljbffr Fruition Group US