Chief Software Engineer

Quest Defense Systems & Solutions provides safety- and mission-critical engineering services for aerospace and defense programs. The Chief Software Engineer will serve as a customer-facing technical authority, leading software architecture, certification strategy, technical direction, and delivery consistency across multiple programs and teams.

Responsibilities:

• Act as the primary technical point of contact between our engineering teams and customer leadership
• Turn customer requirements, contract scope, and certification needs into a clear, executable architecture approach
• Lead architecture discussions, trade studies, and key technical decisions with customer stakeholders
• Help guide customer technical direction while staying aligned with program scope and delivery commitments
• Present architecture, compliance approach, and technical risks in customer and executive reviews
• Define and lead software architecture for embedded, real-time, high-assurance systems
• Ensure alignment with key standards and processes, including:
• DO-178C (DAL A–C)
• ARP4754A system allocations
• Safety assessments and hazard mitigation
• Certification objectives and supporting evidence
• Drive core architectural decisions around:
• Modernization approaches
• Partitioning strategy
• Interface design
• Timing and resource management
• Fault containment and system robustness
• Safety-driven design patterns
• This role operates in a services-based delivery environment, not an internal OEM setup. That means architecture has to support execution just as much as design
• Define architecture in a way that enables:
• Multiple scrum teams working in parallel
• Coordination across distributed teams (onshore/offshore as needed)
• Clear breakdown of work into executable packages
• Structure architecture artifacts to support:
• Traceability to the Statement of Work
• Milestone-based delivery and billing
• Predictable integration and verification progress
• Contribute to proposals by helping define:
• ROM estimates
• Effort breakdowns
• Technical risks
• Staffing plans based on system complexity
• Provide hands-on architectural guidance across multiple engineers and/or scrum teams
• Help break down requirements into clear, testable, and implementable components
• Mentor engineers at all levels in safety-critical development practices
• Lead design reviews, interface reviews, and technical quality checks
• Ensure consistency in how solutions are implemented across teams
• Lead planning and alignment for certification artifacts, including:
• PSAC inputs
• SDP/SVP alignment
• Traceability approach
• Tool qualification considerations (DO-330, if applicable)
• Work closely with customer DERs and certification authorities as needed
• Make architectural decisions with certification in mind to reduce downstream risk
• Identify architectural risks early (multicore timing, partitioning issues, interface changes, unstable requirements)
• Put mitigation plans in place and tie them to program milestones
• Support internal and customer reviews with clear, data-driven risk updates
• Ensure the architecture supports predictable integration and verification

Requirements:

• • Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field
• • Significant experience architecting DO-178C compliant software (DAL A experience preferred)
• • Background working in an engineering services or supplier delivery environment
• • Proven ability to lead software architecture across multiple teams and programs
• • Solid embedded software foundation (C/C++ in avionics-type environments)
• • Experience working directly with customers on regulated aerospace programs
• Due to the nature of the work, all applicants must be U.S. citizens.
• This role can be done remotely with up to 25% travel. Preference is given to candidates who reside in Scottsdale, Minneapolis, or Cincinnati.
• • Experience supporting major aerospace OEMs or Tier 1 suppliers
• • ARINC 653 or partitioned RTOS environments
• • Multicore certification strategy
• • Model-based development exposure (DO-331 context)
• • Integration lab or iron-bird environment exposure
• • Experience building or scaling Centers of Excellence or capability-based delivery teams