[Hiring] Director, Research and Development @Harris Computer

Role Description

• Define and execute the technology and development strategy for the LocalGov business unit.
• Provide leadership and oversight for all software development activities across eight product lines and approximately 40+ development professionals.
• Advance LocalGov's development teams along the Harris AI-SDLC maturity model.
• Lead modernization efforts across IBM i, RPG, and modern technology platforms while preserving customer stability and business continuity.
• Establish engineering standards, development methodologies, and governance processes to improve quality, predictability, and delivery performance.
• Partner with Product Management, Client Services, Professional Services, Sales, and Business Unit leadership to align development priorities with customer and business needs.
• Develop and maintain multi-year product and technology roadmaps across the LocalGov portfolio.
• Build, develop, and mentor engineering leaders and technical teams while fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Oversee development capacity planning, resource allocation, and prioritization across competing initiatives and product lines.
• Use AI development tools personally and daily, and champion their use across the organization.
• Establish and monitor KPIs that measure outcomes rather than activity.
• Own the LocalGov AI delivery-maturity roadmap across all eight product lines.
• Stand up the governance that makes delegated agent work safe.
• Make the LocalGov codebase and delivery pipeline accessible to AI agents.
• Apply AI directly to the IBM i and RPG estate.
• Build the tooling and training program that moves engineers from AI-assisted work to AI-directed work.
• Lead strategic modernization and transformation initiatives including cloud adoption, customer-facing AI solutions, and automation efforts.
• Ensure appropriate architecture, security, compliance, and technical governance practices are maintained across all products.
• Serve as the executive escalation point for critical development issues and strategic customer initiatives.
• Develop succession planning and knowledge preservation strategies for aging legacy technology skillsets.
• Manage OpEx Financial Forecast for R&D department.
• Attendance to key customer events in markets where large-scale development motions are occurring.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive software development leadership experience.
• 5+ years of experience leading managers, technical leaders, and software development teams within a multi-product software organization.
• Demonstrated experience leading software modernization initiatives involving both legacy and modern technology platforms.
• Experience managing geographically distributed development teams and cross-functional technical organizations.
• Strong understanding of software development lifecycles, Agile methodologies, and engineering best practices.
• Experience with enterprise software delivery, product strategy, and technical roadmap development.
• Proven ability to align technology investments and development priorities with business objectives and customer needs.
• Demonstrated experience driving organizational change and technology transformation initiatives.
• Experience implementing or leading AI-assisted development practices, automation initiatives, or engineering productivity improvements.
• Demonstrated hands-on use of AI development tools in daily work.
• Exceptional communication, organizational, stakeholder management, and executive leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with IBM i, AS400, RPG, COBOL, or legacy platform modernization initiatives.
• Experience with local government, public sector, ERP, tax, financial, records management, or government technology solutions.
• Experience with AI-assisted development tools such as GitHub Copilot, Project Bob, LLMs, or similar technologies.
• Experience establishing engineering KPIs, delivery metrics, and AI adoption measurement programs.
• Experience leading engineering organizations through large-scale modernization or digital transformation efforts.
• Familiarity with cloud technologies, APIs, automation frameworks, and modern application architectures.
• Experience building and scaling high-performing engineering teams across multiple product lines.
• Experience integrating AI into engineering workflows, customer solutions, or business operations.
• Experience with Jira, DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and modern software delivery methodologies.
• MBA, advanced technical experience, or equivalent executive leadership experience preferred.

Performance Measurement

• AI-SDLC maturity: development teams advancing toward Level 3 of the Harris AI maturity model.
• Team capability: a training and upskilling program in place and taken up.
• Continuity and succession depth: no product line dependent on a single individual.
• Retention: key engineering talent retained across all eight product lines.
• Modernization progress: a published modernization plan covering the legacy IBM i, RPG, and COBOL estate.
• Financial performance: R&D spend held to plan.
• Cross-functional standing: Product Management, Client Services, Professional Services, and Sales report a working, transparent relationship with R&D.

Salary

$125,000 - $135,000 USD per year.