Director/Sr. Director of Engineering, Software & AI

Through continuous innovation and operational excellence our team in Littleton, CO are using cutting-edge capabilities to revolutionize spaceflight. With many more exciting projects on the horizon, our team could use your curiosity, passion, talent and experience to help us Build Above.

Summary

Redwire Space Missions has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Director/Director of Engineering, Software & AI in our Littleton, CO location. In this role, you'll lead and scale the Software & AI engineering organization responsible for embedded flight software, ground software, mission operations tools, autonomy, and applied AI/ML capabilities for spacecraft programs. This role combines functional leadership with direct technical contributions to flight and ground segment programs, ensuring disciplined software development, certification-ready processes, and the strategic integration of AI/ML technologies across the Space Missions portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the Software & AI Engineering organization, including embedded flight software, ground control software, autonomy algorithms, simulation frameworks, and DevSecOps infrastructure.
• Define and enforce software engineering standards, coding practices, verification methods, documentation requirements, and mission assurance processes for flight-critical systems.
• Provide direct technical leadership to spacecraft programs as needed, serving as a Software technical lead (e.g., SW Architect or IPT Lead), ensuring architecture, implementation, and verification align with mission objectives.
• Oversee development of real-time embedded flight software for C&DH, GNC, EPS, communications, and payloads.
• Drive development and integration of autonomy, onboard decision-making algorithms, and AI/ML models to improve spacecraft resilience, adaptability, and operational efficiency.
• Partner with Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and AI&T, to ensure seamless software/hardware integration, robust verification, and closed-loop performance.
• Guide implementation of digital engineering practices including CI/CD pipelines, automated test frameworks, simulation-in-the-loop, and digital twin environments.
• Build technical roadmaps for software architectures, autonomy frameworks, and AI initiatives supporting future missions and product lines.
• Mentor and develop software engineers, autonomy specialists, and team leads, fostering a culture of technical rigor, innovation, and accountability.
• Support proposal development, customer interactions, design reviews, and mission readiness reviews, as the senior software engineering authority.

Ideal Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field.
• 16+ years of experience in software engineering for aerospace, defense, or high-reliability systems.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing teams.
• Experience leading embedded software development for spacecraft, launch vehicles, or similar mission-critical platforms.
• Experience with real-time embedded systems (C/C++), flight software architectures, or safety-critical software development.
• Familiarity with one or more industry flight software frameworks, such as cFS, F Prime, AGI Max, or similar modular flight software architectures.
• Familiarity with AI/ML methods, autonomy algorithms, or onboard decision systems, including constraints in embedded and space environments.
• Experience with agile execution methods and tools (e.g. Jira, Confluence)
• Familiarity with requirements management tools (JAMA, DOORS).
• Active U.S. security clearance

Desired Skills

• Master's or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Software Engineering, AI/ML, or related field.
• 5+ years managing a geo-diverse functional organization.
• Demonstrated ability to build and scale functional organizations, mentor staff, and drive engineering excellence.
• Experience as a Chief Software Engineer, Chief Software Architect, or Software IPT Lead for spacecraft missions.
• Experience across the full software lifecycle including architecture, implementation, verification, validation, and operations support.
• Experience developing flight software using the cFS framework.
• Expertise deploying AI/ML systems in real-time or resource-constrained environments, including model optimization and onboard inference.
• Experience with DevSecOps, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and modern software development toolchains (e.g., GitLab/GitHub, GitLab CI/CD).
• Experience with digital twin development and simulation.
• Experience with hands-on hardware/software integrated test environments and HITL validation.
• Experience applying cybersecurity principles for space systems and secure coding practices.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills with the ability to influence across engineering programs, and leadership.
• Active U.S. TS/SCI security clearance.
• Ability to travel - an average of 15% travel may be required.

Grow with us as we innovate the next generation capabilities for a new era of space exploration! We offer a highly competitive benefits package along with a commitment to our core values of Integrity, Innovation, Impact, Inclusion, and Excellence.

Don't meet every single requirement above? No worries. We want people who can grow, collaborate and build a stronger team. We strive to build a diverse and inclusive culture, so if you're excited about this job posting, we encourage you to apply. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Pay Range
$190,000 - $265,000/yr.

How We Determine What We Pay (Compensation Philosophy)
Redwire determines pay for positions using local, national, and industry-specific survey data, for our locations throughout the US. We will evaluate external equity and the cost of labor/prevailing wage index, in the relative marketplace for jobs directly comparable to jobs within our company.
For new hires, we strive to make competitive offers allowing the new employee room for future growth. Salaries will be based on the applicant's level of experience, education, and specialized knowledge and skills. Additionally, we consider the external market rate, the amount we have budgeted internally, and internal equity within the company for the same position. An employee/candidate with a stronger skill set will receive higher pay.

Redwire is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Redwire is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

All offers of employment at Redwire are contingent upon clear results of a thorough background check and your ability to provide proof of eligibility to work in the US. Note that some positions will also require ship or ability to obtain a security clearance due to requirements of a classified program.

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