Software Engineering Manager - Aerospace

What will you do?

This team member will support a development team working to transition an existing dual‑differentiation architecture to a new RTOS‑based platform. You will also be responsible for overseeing the team’s adherence to DO-178/278 standards during development. This position requires daily work to be completed at our Cedar Rapids, IA office, with some potential for hybrid work.

• Leading and managing the software engineering team, supervising 2‑5 direct reports.
• Serving as the primary point of contact between the project team and the client for day‑to‑day relationship management, including backlog prioritization and tactical decision making.
• Assisting the COO with strategic client relationship management as needed.
• Acting as Product Owner and Voice of the Customer within the Scrum team, translating client needs into actionable work.
• Writing and maintaining user stories to guide development activities.
• Ensuring all project documentation is complete, accurate, and meets contractual and certification requirements.
• Supporting planning, scheduling, and execution of software development activities in alignment with the broader DO-278A certification effort.
• Collaborating with outside client’s hardware certification team to ensure software deliverables are consistent with overall certification goals.
• Monitoring developer spend against the client’s project budget, projecting remaining scope against available budget, and providing weekly budget and status reports to the client.
• Preparing and delivering a monthly executive summary to internal leadership assessing overall project health.
• Providing career guidance and supporting the personal and professional growth of direct reports.
• Managing technical risks and escalating issues as appropriate to internal leadership.
• Participating in and supporting technical interviews and onboarding of additional team members as the project grows.

The ideal candidate for this position will have:

• 5+ years of post‑baccalaureate experience in a technical or technology‑adjacent field, with demonstrated technical curiosity and the ability to understand, engage with, and constructively challenge software engineering teams.
• Familiarity with DO-178C and/or DO-278A certification processes.
• Demonstrated experience managing client relationships, including day‑to‑day communication and expectation setting.
• Experience owning and reporting against a project budget.
• Proven ability to write and manage a product backlog including user stories.
• Experience producing written status reports and executive‑level summaries.
• Familiarity with avionics or defense software development life cycles.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for internal team leadership and client interaction.

Skills we consider a plus include:

• Prior experience managing a platform migration or architecture transition effort.
• Familiarity with IFF systems or similar identification/interrogation technologies.
• Any DO-178C or DO-278A certification experience, with AL2 (DAL B) or higher being ideal.
• Sufficient technical familiarity with RTOS environments (e.g., LynxOS, QNX, VxWorks) to effectively lead and communicate with the engineering team.
• Exposure to DO-254 hardware/software integration considerations.
• Experience working in a Scrum environment as a Product Owner or Scrum Master.
• Familiarity with tools such as JAMA or Rational DOORS.

• Medical, dental, vision coverage
• Life and disability insurance
• Paid holidays and scaling PTO
• A generous 401k plan
• And more!

Genova is an Equal Opportunity Employer.