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Director of Software (m/f/d) at NEX Aero
NEX Aero is hiring a Director of Software (m/f/d) in NEX Aero GmbH Office. On-site.
About NEX Aero
NEX Aero is developing autonomous heavy-lift cargo drones (vertical take-off and landing) for offshore and maritime logistics. The aircraft can carry up to 100 kg of time-critical cargo to ships, offshore platforms, and remote sites, and is designed to operate in salt water, wind, and on moving decks. The company is initially focusing on missions such as resupplying vessels and delivering parts to wind farms, and plans to expand into inland logistics.
Director of Software (m/f/d) job description
About the role
As Director of Software at NEX Aero, you will build and lead our software organization from the ground up, spanning three domains: Flight Control Software & Embedded Systems, Automation Software (autonomy & perception), and Cloud & Application Software. You will be a hands-on technical leader in your anchor domain while providing credible technical direction across the other two.
Your responsibilities
- Build, lead, and scale NEX Aero's software organization across three domains: Flight Control Software & Embedded Systems, Automation Software, and Cloud & Application Software.
- Take end-to-end technical ownership of software delivery across flight control & autopilot systems, safety-critical embedded software, autonomy/perception software, and application, tooling & ground-control software.
- Define software architecture, development standards, coding practices, and cybersecurity processes that hold consistently across all three domains.
- Ensure software across all domains is designed and delivered to meet applicable aviation certification requirements.
- Manage external software development partners and suppliers across domains, ensuring alignment with requirements, quality expectations, and delivery timelines.
- Take a hands-on role in your anchor domain (embedded / real-time / safety-critical systems) — architecture, critical modules, key design decisions.
- Direct and evaluate technical decisions made by domain leads in automation software and cloud/application software, without needing to implement in those stacks yourself.
- Work closely with hardware, systems engineering, and certification stakeholders to ensure software integrates seamlessly across the wider product.
Your profile
- Proven track record building and scaling software organizations from the ground up, ideally spanning more than one technical domain.
- Deep, hands-on expertise in embedded, real-time, and safety-critical software development — this is your anchor domain.
- Working fluency in at least one adjacent domain — autonomy/perception software (computer vision, sensor fusion, robotics) or modern cloud/application software (backend, frontend, cloud-native architectures) — sufficient to direct and evaluate domain leads' technical decisions.
- Strong understanding of software certification processes in regulated environments.
- Experience managing external development partners or suppliers.
- Experience in flight control, robotics, automotive, aerospace, or similar safety-critical domains.
- A true technical leader with an ownership mindset, high quality standards, and execution focus.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to align technical and non-technical stakeholders around a shared architectural vision.
- Fluency in English; German is a plus.
What we offer
- Competitive annual compensation.
- Meaningful equity participation (VSOP).
- A key leadership role in a high-impact aviation technology company.
- Direct influence on product, architecture, and team setup across all of software.
- Work on a system that is both technically and regulatorily demanding.
Apply now
Applications go straight to NEX Aero. We never sit between you and the employer.
Apply now ↗
