Director of Software Engineering
$155,000–$215,000 year
HybridColorado Springs, Colorado, United States
Job Summary
Lead Caliola's software organization by establishing technical leads, mentoring talent, and strengthening team capability across in-person, remote, and restricted development environments. Define and continuously improve software engineering standards for architecture, code quality, testing, CI/CD, secure development, and AI-enabled practices. Improve delivery predictability by monitoring staffing, dependencies, technical risks, quality, and technical debt across current contracts, future awards, and internally funded efforts. Establish and improve agile software development practices, including sprint planning, backlog management, prioritization, and retrospectives. Partner with program management, business development, product, and customers to support proposals, translate requirements into executable plans, and validate technical approaches. Drive healthy team dynamics by setting clear expectations, coaching through conflict, and creating an environment focused on execution and accountability. Report to the VP of Engineering to mature the organization from project-by-project execution into a disciplined, repeatable delivery engine.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline
- 10+ years of progressive software engineering experience, including experience leading software teams, technical leads, or complex software delivery efforts
- Demonstrated ability to provide Leadership, Management, and Accountability for software engineers and technical leads across in-person, remote, and restricted development environments
- Strong working knowledge of modern software engineering practices, including agile development, software architecture, code quality, automated testing, CI/CD, secure development, documentation, and release discipline
- Ability to manage staffing, priorities, dependencies, technical risk, quality, technical debt, and delivery commitments across multiple programs or development efforts
- Ability to partner effectively with program management, business development, product/design, engineering leaders, and customers as needed to support proposals, technical planning, and execution
- Ability to work under pressure, manage challenging situations with professionalism, and communicate clearly with technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret security clearance
- Exceptional written and verbal English communication skills, with the ability to convey complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences
- Ability to navigate a standard office environment including prolonged periods at a desk and frequent use of computers, screens, and digital communication tools
- Ability to maintain high levels of cognitive focus, analytical thinking, and attention to detail for extended periods when reviewing architectural designs, code repositories, and technical proposals
- Ability to frequently move about the office environment to facilitate team collaboration and engage with stakeholders
- Requires the occasional ability to lift, move, and set up office and personal technical equipment (e.g., laptops, monitors, and peripherals) up to 20 lbs
- Must possess exceptional written and verbal English communication skills
- Must be able to navigate a standard office environment including prolonged periods at a desk and frequent use of computers, screens, and digital communication tools
- Must be able to maintain high levels of cognitive focus, analytical thinking, and attention to detail for extended periods when reviewing architectural designs, code repositories, and technical proposals
- Must be able to frequently move about the office environment to facilitate team collaboration and engage with stakeholders
- Requires the occasional ability to lift, move, and set up office and personal technical equipment (e.g., laptops, monitors, and peripherals) up to 20 lbs
- Must be able to effectively lead and coach others
- Must be available for weekend shifts
- Must be able to lift 50 lbs
- Valid driver's license
- Must be able to effectively lead and coach others
- Must be available for weekend shifts
- Must be able to lift 50 lbs
- Valid driver's license
Desired Qualifications
- Master's degree or higher in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical discipline
- Active U.S. Government Secret or Top Secret clearance
- Experience leading software organizations that deliver both customer-funded programs and internally funded or productized software capabilities
- Experience developing or delivering software in DoD, Federal Government, defense contractor, restricted, regulated, classified, or mission-critical environments, including familiarity with statements of work, proposal support, and formal program execution
- Familiarity leading teams across technologies such as C++, Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, Vue.js or similar front-end frameworks, Node.js or comparable backend technologies, GitLab, CI/CD pipelines, containers, Linux, and secure or restricted development environments
- Experience scaling software engineering practices in a growing small business, defense contractor, or mission-focused technology organization
- Experience guiding adoption of AI-enabled software engineering practices, development tools, or knowledge-management workflows
- Ability to travel periodically for critical meetings at customer sites and other business locations
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