Group Head / Sr. DGM - Software Systems

Group Head / Sr. DGM – Software Systems Domain: Land Defence Systems

Experience: 15–20 Years

People Management Experience: Minimum 5 Years

Location: Talegaon / Hazira

Role Overview We are seeking an accomplished Technical Leader – Embedded Software, RTOS & Mission-Critical Systems to provide technology leadership for the development of advanced software platforms and mission-critical embedded applications for land-based defence systems .

The role will provide technical ownership across the complete software product lifecycle—from software architecture, technology strategy and requirements definition through detailed design, development, integration, verification, qualification, deployment and lifecycle support .

The ideal candidate will have deep expertise in embedded software, real-time operating systems, VxWorks, Linux, Qt/QML, C/C++, distributed systems and software architecture , combined with proven experience leading multidisciplinary software engineering teams and delivering complex, safety- and mission-critical systems.

The candidate should be capable of operating across low-level embedded software, BSP/device drivers, RTOS, middleware, application software, graphical user interfaces and system-level software architecture , while providing technical leadership and building a high-performing software organization.

Key Responsibilities

• Software Technical & System Leadership

• Provide technical leadership and strategic direction for embedded, real-time, platform and application software for land defence systems.

• Act as the senior technical authority for software architecture and engineering across assigned programmes.

• Define software architectures, technology roadmaps, development methodologies and technical strategies aligned with defence programme requirements.

• Lead software architecture and design reviews covering:

• Software requirements

• Functional decomposition

• Software partitioning

• Architectural trade-offs

• Interface definition

• Performance and resource utilization

• Cybersecurity considerations

• Verification and validation strategy

• Establish and drive software architecture standards, reusable frameworks, common platforms and design patterns across programmes.

• Ensure software solutions meet stringent requirements for real-time performance, reliability, determinism, availability, maintainability and mission readiness.

• Provide technical leadership during customer reviews, architecture reviews, programme reviews and system integration activities.

• Drive resolution of complex software and system-level technical issues.

• Work closely with systems engineering, electronics, power electronics, controls, mechanical, vehicle integration, weapons and platform teams.

• Embedded Software & RTOS

• Lead development of mission-critical embedded software based on RTOS and real-time computing architectures.

• Provide deep technical direction on VxWorks-based embedded systems, including:

• Task/thread architecture

• Scheduling

• Inter-task communication

• Synchronization

• Interrupt handling

• Memory management

• Timing and determinism

• Performance optimization

• Fault handling

• Lead development of embedded software using C/C++ for real-time and resource-constrained systems.

• Guide development of Board Support Packages (BSPs), device drivers, hardware abstraction layers and middleware.

• Define robust interfaces between application software, middleware, RTOS, device drivers and hardware.

• Drive best practices for:

• Real-time scheduling

• Concurrency

• Multithreading

• Memory management

• Exception handling

• Fault recovery

• Watchdog and health-monitoring mechanisms

• Lead performance analysis and optimization of real-time embedded systems.

• Linux & Platform Software

• Provide technical leadership for embedded Linux and Linux-based platform architectures.

• Guide development of:

• Embedded Linux platforms

• Device drivers

• BSPs

• Middleware

• System services

• Inter-process communication

• Networking stacks

• Hardware abstraction layers

• Drive Linux platform customization, configuration, optimization and integration for defence applications.

• Define architecture for systems involving Linux and RTOS-based heterogeneous computing environments.

• Lead integration of Linux-based mission applications with real-time control and embedded subsystems.

• Drive adoption of appropriate open-source technologies while ensuring configuration management, security, licensing and long-term maintainability.

• Qt / GUI & Application Software

• Provide technical leadership for development of Qt/QML-based graphical user interfaces and operator-control applications.

• Define software architecture for modern, responsive and maintainable HMI/operator interfaces.

• Guide development of:

• Qt/C++ applications

• Qt/QML user interfaces

• Real-time data visualization

• System status and health monitoring

• Mission displays

• Operator control interfaces

• Diagnostics and maintenance interfaces

• Ensure efficient integration between GUI/application layers and real-time embedded systems.

• Drive development of reusable UI frameworks, widgets and software components across defence programmes.

• Ensure GUI solutions meet requirements for performance, usability, reliability and degraded/fault operating modes.

• Software Architecture & Platform Engineering

• Define scalable and modular software architectures for complex defence platforms.

• Establish appropriate software partitioning across:

• Bare-metal systems

• RTOS

• Embedded Linux

• Application processors

• Mission computers

• Vehicle control units

• Distributed computing nodes

• Define communication and middleware architectures using appropriate technologies and protocols.

• Drive development of common software platforms and reusable middleware.

• Establish software design standards, coding guidelines, architecture patterns and engineering best practices.

• Promote modularity, portability, configurability and technology reuse.

• Evaluate emerging software technologies and determine their suitability for mission-critical defence applications.

• Real-Time, Distributed & Networked Systems

• Lead architecture and development of distributed real-time software systems.

• Provide technical direction for inter-process and inter-system communication.

• Define communication architectures for embedded and distributed platforms.

• Guide implementation of deterministic communication and data exchange mechanisms.

• Work with system teams on interfaces involving:

• Ethernet

• CAN/CAN-FD

• Serial interfaces

• MIL-STD-1553 or equivalent military communication buses

• Other platform-specific interfaces

• Ensure appropriate consideration of latency, bandwidth, determinism, fault tolerance and synchronization.

• Drive system-level performance analysis and optimization.

• People Leadership & Organization Development

• Lead and develop a multidisciplinary software engineering organization comprising engineers working across:

• Embedded software

• RTOS

• VxWorks

• Linux

• BSP/device drivers

• Middleware

• C/C++

• Qt/QML

• Application software

• Software architecture

• Build a high-performing software organization with strong technical depth and succession capability.

• Establish competency frameworks and technical career paths.

• Conduct performance management, talent reviews, resource planning and succession planning.

• Mentor senior engineers, architects and engineering managers.

• Develop the next generation of software technical leaders and architects.

• Promote a culture of engineering excellence, innovation, ownership, quality and continuous learning.

Required Technical Expertise The candidate should demonstrate strong expertise in:

• Embedded Software
• Real-Time Operating Systems
• VxWorks
• Embedded Linux
• C/C++
• Qt / Qt Quick / QML
• Software Architecture
• Distributed Real-Time Systems
• Multithreaded Programming
• BSP and Device Driver Development
• Middleware
• Hardware/Software Integration
• Real-Time Networking
• Mission-Critical Software

Strong Understanding And Hands-on Experience In

• RTOS architecture
• Scheduling and determinism
• Inter-process communication
• Multithreading and synchronization
• Interrupt handling
• Memory management
• Device drivers
• BSP development
• Hardware abstraction layers
• Embedded Linux customization
• Linux device drivers
• Bootloaders
• Middleware frameworks
• Real-time communication
• Network programming
• Performance optimization
• Fault handling and recovery
• Diagnostics and health monitoring
• Software configuration management
• Software verification and validation

Software Architecture & Engineering Tools Experience with some or most of the following will be expected:

• VxWorks / Wind River ecosystem
• Embedded Linux
• C/C++
• Qt / Qt Quick / QML
• Git
• CMake
• GCC/toolchains
• GDB
• Static-analysis tools
• CI/CD frameworks
• Unit and integration testing frameworks
• Code coverage tools
• Debugging and profiling tools
• SIL/HIL environments
• Real-time system analysis and profiling tools

Experience with containerization, virtualization, DevSecOps and automated software pipelines will be an added advantage where applicable to the product architecture.

Defence Industry Experience – Preferred Experience in one or more of the following areas will be highly desirable:

• Armoured, Artillery and Air Defence Platforms
• Vehicle management systems
• Mission computers
• Weapon systems
• Gun-turret systems
• Gun control and stabilization systems
• Autonomous/remote land platforms
• Mission displays and operator consoles
• Embedded vehicle control systems
• Real-time mission-critical systems
• Military communication and networking systems

Experience with relevant military standards, environmental qualification, system integration, EMI/EMC, reliability and defence software qualification processes will be strongly preferred.

Leadership & Behavioural Competencies

• Strong software technology vision and strategic thinking.
• Proven ability to lead large, multidisciplinary software engineering teams.
• Strong systems-thinking and architectural problem-solving capability.
• Ability to make technically sound decisions under programme, schedule and resource constraints.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills.
• Ability to influence across organizational boundaries through technical leadership.
• Strong customer-facing and technical presentation capability.
• Demonstrated ability to build, mentor and retain high-quality software talent.
• Ability to balance deep technical involvement with organization-level leadership.
• Strong orientation toward quality, reliability, cybersecurity and engineering excellence.
• Strong ownership and accountability for technical outcomes.

Education Essential

• B.E./B.Tech. or equivalent in Computer Science & Engineering / Electronics & Communication Engineering / Electrical & Electronics Engineering / Embedded Systems

Preferred

• M.E./M.Tech. in Computer Science / Embedded Systems / Real-Time Systems / Software Engineering / Electronics / Computer Engineering

Experience

• 15–20 years of relevant software engineering experience .
• Minimum 5 years of demonstrated people-management and engineering leadership experience.
• Strong experience in embedded and real-time software development.
• Significant hands-on experience with VxWorks and/or other RTOS platforms.
• Strong experience in Embedded Linux and C/C++.
• Strong experience with Qt/QML and development of operator/HMI applications is highly desirable.
• Proven experience architecting and delivering complex, mission-critical embedded software systems.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary software teams through the complete product development lifecycle.
• Experience in defence, aerospace, automotive, industrial automation, robotics or other high-reliability domains is preferred.
• Direct experience in land defence systems, weapon systems, vehicle electronics, mission computers or unmanned platforms will be strongly preferred.

Ideal Candidate Profile The ideal candidate is a senior software technology leader and people manager who combines deep technical expertise in embedded and real-time software with the ability to architect and deliver complex mission-critical defence systems.

The candidate should be comfortable operating across the complete software stack—from device drivers, BSPs, RTOS and VxWorks through middleware, Linux, C/C++, Qt/QML and application software , while maintaining a strong understanding of system-level requirements and hardware/software integration.

They should have a demonstrated track record of leading software teams, solving complex real-time and embedded-system challenges, interacting with customers and cross-functional stakeholders, and building strong technical organizations.

This is a technology leadership role—not merely a project management position—and requires demonstrated ownership of complex software engineering decisions, technical strategy, engineering excellence, technical delivery, innovation and people development.