Director, Software Engineering

SAAB is seeking a Director, Software Engineering to lead development of mission-critical systems for advanced defense and manufacturing solutions. You will own strategy, architecture, and delivery of secure, high-reliability software for air, land, and naval products. Partner with product, systems, and manufacturing teams to align roadmaps, drive modern engineering practices, and ensure compliance with safety, quality, and cybersecurity standards. Mentor engineering managers, build high-performing teams, and foster a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and collaboration across global sites.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute software engineering strategy for mission-critical defense and manufacturing systems
• Lead architecture, design, and delivery of secure, high-reliability software platforms
• Manage, mentor, and grow engineering managers and technical leaders
• Implement and improve Agile, Dev
• Ops, and CI/CD practices across teams
• Ensure compliance with safety, quality, and cybersecurity standards and regulations
• Collaborate with product, systems, and manufacturing teams to align technology roadmaps
• Oversee resource planning, budgeting, and vendor/partner coordination
• Drive continuous improvement, innovation, and reuse across global engineering sites
• Establish and track engineering KPIs for quality, delivery, and reliability
• Represent software engineering in executive and customer-facing forums

Required Skills

• Software architecture
• Embedded systems development
• Cloud-native development
• Cybersecurity for defense systems
• Agile and Dev
• Ops practices
• Systems engineering
• CI/CD pipeline design
• Secure software development lifecycle (SSDLC)
• Technical leadership and people management
• Regulated/defense software compliance