Software Manager

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Full Time
Engineering
Experienced
Job Title:Software Manager Job Level: Advanced
Summary
Palomar is seeking a dynamic and experienced Software Manager to lead the development of advanced software solutions for secure communication systems. This role will involve overseeing a small team of software engineers as they work on various projects, as well as participating in the management of the software group’s tools and processes, and software best practices as it relates to DO-178C certification for airborne environments.
This role will be responsible for managing a high-performing team of engineers, driving the software development process, and ensuring successful execution of both incremental and long-term software projects. The ideal candidate will possess deep technical expertise in software development for secure communication systems, a solid understanding of multi-level security, and experience with modular and scalable software architecture. This role will report directly to the Vice President of Engineering.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
  • Software Development: Oversee the development of software for secure communication systems to ensure it meets design and quality. This position may involve occasional hands-on development and troubleshooting.
  • Team Leadership & Mentorship: Provide day-to-day leadership to a software engineering team, guiding team members through technical challenges, and fostering a collaborative, high-performance environment. Manage team performance, provide regular feedback, support career growth for team members, and collaborate with other functional teams to drive organizational goals and innovation.
  • Software Best Practices: Guide the team in designing scalable, modular software architectures based on open systems standards, ensuring future flexibility and compatibility with evolving mission needs and hardware advancements.
  • Data Protection & Compliance: Ensure that software solutions are compliant with the latest data protection standards, including data encryption, multi-level security protocols, and secure communication requirements.
  • Software Lifecycle Management: Oversee the complete software development lifecycle, from requirements gathering and design to implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance.
  • Agile Project Management: Participate as required in agile software development processes, including sprint planning, task prioritization, and backlog management. Working closely with the technical program manager, ensure timely delivery of software milestones, while meeting quality and performance standards.
  • Process Optimization- Provide ownership to the software change process and contribute to ideas to standardize and optimize the process, ensuring all software quality requirements are met. 
  • Uphold Palomar’s policies, quality standards, and business practices, ensuring compliance across all aspects of the program.
  • Adhere to Palomar’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, ensuring that all work is conducted with integrity and in full compliance with regulatory and ethical standards.
  • Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Vice President of Engineering, contributing to continuous improvement and the overall success of the engineering department.
Qualifications
Essential Skills and Required Experience:
  • Leadership and Communication: Strong leadership skills are critical, including the ability to manage cross-functional teams, mentor engineers, and communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
  • Experience with Software Life Cycle Processes: The candidate should be familiar with structured planning, requirement definition, design, implementation, and documentation throughout the software life cycle, ensuring compliance with standards like DO-178C. This includes Static Code analysis.
  • Verification and Validation Expertise: The candidate should have experience in overseeing software verification activities, including testing and ensuring traceability between requirements, design, and test results to confirm that the software works as intended.
  • Risk-Based Approach: The candidate should be comfortable working with Development Assurance Levels (DAL), identifying the criticality of software and applying appropriate rigor in the development process, especially for higher-risk systems.
  • Configuration and Change Management: The candidate should have experience with managing software configuration, ensuring version control, and handling changes, particularly when those changes affect safety-critical functions.
  • Quality Assurance & Independent Reviews: The ideal candidate should be adept at implementing quality assurance practices, according to our QMS processes, including regular independent reviews to ensure adherence to safety and compliance standards.
  • Regulatory and Certification Experience: The candidate should have familiarity with certification requirements (such as FAA or EASA) and the ability to produce the necessary documentation and evidence to meet DO-178C standards for software certification.

Education and/or Work Experience:
  • Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field
  • 8+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 3-5 years in a leadership/management role
  • Experience with Military communication systems with particular emphasis on airborne communication systems
  • Working knowledge of military and commercial Aerospace certification processes, such as DO-178C and DO-254
  • Experience with agile software development tools
  • Experience with Open System Standards. Modular Open Architecture Standard (MOSA), and Sensor Open System Architecture (SOSA), such as FACE (Future Airborne Capabilities) for developing and verifying avionics software

Salary Range: $140,000- $190,000
 
Physical Demands
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; reach with hands and arms; talk and hear and occasionally required to climb stairs; balance; stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.
Work Environment
This job operates in a professional office environment floor. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently exposed to fumes or airborne particles, moving mechanical parts and vibration. The noise level in the work environment can be loud. 
 



Nothing in this job description restricts management's right to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time. This job description does not constitute a written or implied contract of employment.

*This position requires either a US Person (as defined in applicable export regulations) or a non-US person who is eligible to obtain required export authorization. *

*To comply with U.S. export laws and regulations, Palomar Products Inc. operations in the U.S. may only employ "U.S. Persons" as defined by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

**​Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and Affirmative Action (AAP) Employer

Palomar Products is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and is an affirmative action employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, medical condition, national origin, marital status, disability, pregnancy or parental status, childbirth, genetic information, or military and veteran status. Request an Accommodation. Read further information regarding Affirmative Action narrative availability.

Palomar Products participates in E-Verify: Details in English and Spanish. Right to Work Statement in English and Spanish. EEO is the law. Pay Transparency Nondiscrimination Provision.

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