Head of Engineering - Software Development

Cooperidge Consulting Firm is seeking a Director of Software Engineering for a top Defense Technology client.

This leadership role, based in Atlanta, GA, will build, lead, and manage growing engineering teams across the United States and Europe, shaping the technical direction of advanced AI and computer vision software for airspace security. The Director is responsible for establishing leadership structure, setting technical direction, and driving execution across development projects while aligning technical strategy with high-level business and national security objectives.

Job Responsibilities

• Build, lead, and directly manage growing software and AI engineering teams distributed across the United States and Europe.
• Establish effective leadership structure, set strategic technical direction, and implement robust engineering processes to guide company expansion.
• Drive project execution across software and AI development, prioritizing management and delegation over individual coding responsibilities.
• Work closely with the CEO and Managing Director to align overall technical strategy with core business objectives and goals.
• Ensure all software and AI development projects adhere to stringent regulatory standards of regulated industries (defense, aviation, aerospace).
• Implement and enforce industry best practices, including strong adherence to Agile and DevOps methodologies.
• Guide technical decision-making and scale the engineering culture and technical standards from the ground up during a pivotal growth phase.

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related technical field is required.
• Master's degree or Ph.D. in Computer Science or a related field is preferred.

Experience

• Minimum of ten (10) or more years of overall software engineering experience is required.
• Proven experience scaling and leading small engineering teams through rapid growth phases is required.
• Prior DoD or defense contractor project management experience (e.g., Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, L3Harris, etc.) is mandatory.
• Experience with AI-driven defense applications, computer vision, or autonomous systems is preferred.

Certifications/Licenses

• U.S. Citizenship is REQUIRED (due to ITAR restrictions and government contract work).
• Strong technical leadership background with a deep understanding of Agile and DevOps practices.
• Local to Atlanta or willing to relocate to the Atlanta metropolitan area is required.

Skills

• Exceptional leadership and communication skills (both technical and non-technical) for managing distributed, international teams.
• Background in hardware-software integration and hardware interfacing is preferred.
• Familiarity with international and distributed engineering team management is preferred.

• Health Care Plan (Medical, Dental & Vision)
• Retirement Plan (401k, IRA)
• Life Insurance (Basic, Voluntary & AD&D)
• Paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick & Public Holidays)
• Family Leave (Maternity, Paternity)
• Short Term & Long Term Disability
• Training & Development
• Wellness Resources