Vice President, Engineering and Technology

Responsibilities

• Technology Vision, Strategy & Architecture
• Own and continuously evolve the company's multi‑year technology vision and roadmap for unmanned and autonomous systems, aligned with long‑range business plans, customer mission outcomes, and innovation priorities.
• Lead portfolio‑level technology and architecture decisions (e.g., make/buy/partner, modularity vs. integration, open architectures) to optimize capability, schedule, lifecycle cost, and technical risk.
• Translate emerging tech trends (autonomy/AI, advanced sensors, secure networking, cloud‑enabled mission services, digital engineering) into concrete, prioritized roadmaps and investment themes.
• Chair key technical governance forums (e.g., Architecture Review Board, Design Authority reviews) to maintain technical integrity, reuse, and common standards across programs.
• Innovation, R&D & Productization
• Drive a focused, high‑impact R&D portfolio aligned with the technology strategy and customer needs, making clear go/hold/stop decisions on major technology bets.
• Guide the maturation of technologies from concept and prototype through flight test, production, and in‑service evolution.
• Sponsor and review research and case studies on leading‑edge technologies, identifying differentiating capabilities and ensuring rapid learning cycles (demo, test, iterate).
• Chief Technical Authority & Governance
• Serve as the company's ultimate technical authority for key design and architecture decisions, technical risk acceptance, and technology trade‑offs.
• Establish and track key technical KPIs/OKRs (e.g., defect rates, design cycle times, test coverage, reliability metrics) and drive continuous improvement based on data.
• Engineering & Flight Organization Leadership
• Lead and integrate a multi‑disciplinary Engineering organization (Systems, Software, AI/Autonomy, Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical, Payloads, Test) to deliver cohesive, high‑impact solutions for global defense and security customers.
• Scale and structure the Engineering and Flight Operations organizations to meet strategic growth; assign authority and responsibility to department directors and their leadership teams, and monitor execution.
• Build and maintain a strong technical ladder, including Principal/Chief Engineers, to provide deep expertise, mentorship, and design leadership across programs.
• Provide strategic oversight and technical direction through the Director, Flight Operations to ensure operations (flight test, training, deployed missions) are tightly integrated with the technology roadmap and product strategy
• Customer, Market & Ecosystem Engagement
• Engage directly with key customers, end‑users, and partners to understand mission problems, shape the technology roadmap around rea

Benefits

Additional Information

Introduction - Why This Role Matters for Insitu Insitu is redefining the future of unmanned aviation, delivering autonomous vehicle systems and mission solutions that support critical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions for global defense and security customers. As our Vice President, Engineering and Technology, you will be the senior technical leader guiding the next generation of Insitu's platforms, payloads, autonomy, and mission services-shaping how our customers sense, decide, and act in the most demanding environments. This is a high‑impact, enterprise‑wide role that combines technology strategy, engineering leadership, and operational integration. You will report directly to the CEO, lead both Engineering and Flight Operations through your department directors, and set the technical direction that underpins Insitu's growth, competitiveness, and long‑term innovation roadmap. Job Description Summary The Vice President of Engineering and Technology is the company's senior technical leader and primary technology strategist. This role owns the long‑term technology vision and roadmap for our autonomous systems portfolio and ensures that major business and investment decisions are grounded in deep technical insight and aligned with company strategy and customer mission needs. The VP, Engineering and Technology sets and communicates the technology direction, architects the product and platform strategy, prioritizes R&D and capital investments, and maintains a coherent "system‑of‑systems" vision across platforms, payloads, autonomy, ground systems, and data/software. This role reports to the Chief Executive Officer and is a key member of the executive leadership team, acting as the company's chief technical authority and external technology ambassador. The Engineering and Flight Operations departments both report directly to this position. The VP, Engineering and Technology provides executive leadership and guidance to both organizations and is accountable for integrating Engineering and Flight Operations to deliver safe, reliable, and innovative autonomous vehicle systems and mission services that meet customer, quality, regulatory, and contractual requirements.

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