Director of Research & Development

Job Title: Director of R&D Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Hybrid)
Employment Type: Full-Time

This can be a remote position but is going to require travel to Pittsburgh on a regular basis.

About the Role: Drive Innovation. Lead Teams. Shape the Future.

Our client is looking for a forward-thinking, results-driven leader to take our software products to the next level. As Director of R&D, you ll set the strategic vision, lead a talented development team, and champion innovation that drives company growth.

The Director plays an active role in developing code and leading the R&D team in the client's philosophy of development, ensuring process, practices, patterns, and code maximize business value. Working in collaboration with the senior leadership the Director of R&D will execute on delivering quality products according to the client's strategy and established product roadmaps.

The Director of Development is a member of the client's Leadership Team, reporting to the President, and will work closely with all Senior Team members to create a strong, cohesive leadership team that is strategically aligned. The Director must exhibit both the courage and integrity to professionally and directly engage difficult topics, and lead productive conversations around how they themselves and other members of the team can improve. The Director must demonstrate care for each member of their team, with a commitment to help each one learn and grow, creating an environment that reinforces and fosters the client's core values.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute a long-term product roadmap aligned with overall business objectives
• Lead and mentor a team of developers, fostering professional growth and collaboration
• Oversee development, QA, and release cycles to ensure high-quality, on-time deliveries
• Develop fixes, enhancements, interfaces, and new functionality that provide value to the client's solutions
• Work with leadership to identify market trends and opportunities to drive product innovation from ideation through launch
• Leverage customer feedback and industry insights to inform product strategy and direction
• Work cross-functionally with other departments to align goals and optimize impact
• Support pre-sales efforts by scoping custom solutions and ensuring feasibility
• Report progress, key milestones, and performance metrics to executive leadership
• Ensure staffing levels meet current and projected needs
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement within development team
• Implement and maintain strong release and configuration management practices
• Provide hands-on mentoring and guidance to team members
• Facilitate clear and consistent communication with other internal teams
• Track and report on development performance metrics, including productivity, quality, and delivery timelines
• Conduct root cause analysis on recurring issues and oversee corrective actions
• Manage recruitment and onboarding of new team members

Qualifications

• A minimum of 7+ years of experience developing and supporting software applications in a windows environment.
• Bachelor s degree in programming, software engineering or related field preferred or equivalent experience and/or demonstrated development skills.
• Proven ability to align cross-functional teams around product goals
• Strong project management and organizational skills
• Experienced people leader with high standards for quality and execution
• Customer-focused and results-driven with a passion for innovation
• Strategic thinker with the ability to anticipate trends and opportunities
• Excellent communicator across written, visual, and verbal formats

• Self-starter with a strong sense of ownership and accountability.

Core Competencies

• Drive for Results
• Building Effective Teams
• Conflict Management
• Customer Focus
• Decision Quality
• Integrity and Trust
• Priority Setting

• Innovation Management