Senior Vice President of Software Development

Job Description

Location: Houston, TX | On-Site
Base Salary: $185,000–$250,000

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Senior Vice President of Software Development to lead software engineering, technology strategy, and a major legacy-platform modernization initiative for an established, growing company.

This position requires a proven software developer who has advanced into senior leadership. The ideal candidate combines hands-on software development experience with strong technical leadership, project management, and the ability to drive successful software delivery.

This is not a traditional IT infrastructure or technology generalist position.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the modernization and migration of a mission-critical, data-intensive platform from IBM i to a modern technology environment.
• Oversee software development and IT operations teams totaling approximately 12 professionals.
• Manage the migration process, including RFP development, vendor selection, implementation, testing, and deployment.
• Review and understand application code, software architecture, database designs, and technical deliverables.
• Manage development projects, budgets, vendors, timelines, and deliverables.
• Establish development standards, accountability, and quality assurance processes.
• Collaborate with executive leadership on technology strategy and future product development.
• Provide technical guidance and ensure successful project execution.

Required Qualifications

• MUST HAVE prior hands-on software development experience, including personally writing, developing, reading, and reviewing application code. This is a non-negotiable requirement.
• Minimum 5 years of leadership experience directly managing software developers and engineering teams.
• 10+ years of progressive software development and technology experience.
• Strong knowledge of programming languages, application architecture, relational databases, REST APIs, and cloud technologies.
• Proven experience managing complex software development projects and major platform migrations.
• Experience managing external development vendors, RFPs, budgets, and project delivery.
• IBM i, RPG/CL, or DB2 migration experience highly desirable but not required.
• Experience in small or mid-sized organizations preferred.

Important Distinction

You will NOT be expected to write production code. However, you must have a software development background and be comfortable reviewing code, understanding technical challenges, and working directly with developers.

A Note About the Position Title

This opportunity is actually for the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of an established, small to mid-sized company. We've intentionally advertised it under a software development leadership title to attract executives with strong development backgrounds rather than those whose experience is primarily in IT infrastructure and operations.

We're happy to discuss the actual title, responsibilities, and expectations in greater detail during our conversations.

And if you've made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read the entire description! We appreciate candidates who carefully evaluate opportunities to ensure their experience aligns with what the company truly needs.