Director – IT Software Engineering and Data Solutions

Job Category:

Information Technology PL

POSITION PURPOSE:

This is a high-profile, high-impact role reporting to the CIO and providing overall strategic and operational leadership for all aspects of IT software engineering, which is a key aspect of our ongoing, multi-faceted enterprise digital transformation.  Critical aspects include application and integration requirements, architecture, development, QA, and lifecycle management.  Key areas of contribution include:

• Delivering and curating multiple complex portfolios that fundamentally transform core business operations within a mission-critical operational framework
• Maintaining security, reliability and stability of systems through high-impact changes
• Being a positive force elevating IT from order-taker to partner across all stakeholder groups
• Understanding and leading the role emerging technologies (such as AI) should play in delivering solutions, increasing operational efficiency, and improving Republic’s ability to turn data into insights and insights into action
• Controlling cost and maximizing value realized on our investment portfolio
• Improving delivery, operation and adoption of custom / purpose-built applications and solutions produced and integrated by the team
• Further evolving the organization’s ability to support business growth and technology evolution

ESSENTIAL DUTIES

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.  Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

Communication: 

• Ability to clearly represent technical capabilities and challenges to business and technical stakeholders and navigate from uncertainty to delivered products and offerings
• Articulate decision drivers and constraints across stakeholder groups
• Translate technical risk, delivery tradeoffs, and operational impact into clear recommendations for senior leaders
   

Solution Delivery: 

• Understand and lead work across the system lifecycle through hands-on delivery experience across the SDLC
• Collaborate with the technical team and stakeholders to analyze options, consider business and technical strategy, and deliver and actively curate portfolio roadmaps
• Stay current on evolving technology trends and combine visionary strategy with sound judgment to recommend practical, secure, and cost-effective solutions
• Simplify solutions whenever possible, managing the cost of running and supporting IT systems
• Partner with stakeholders to balance speed, scope, quality, risk, and business value
   

Systems Maintenance and Support: 

• Quickly understand technical solutions and assess an action plan during an event or incident 
• Work with the team to methodically walk through actions, past and future, expediting system restoration and postmortem analysis and feedback
• Facilitate communication within and across all stakeholders
• Own issues, while creating a safe space for the team to learn
   

Continuous Improvement:

• Collect and leverage metrics to understand availability and reliability across the enterprise.
• Direct resources and financial investment to improve the stability and performance of systems
• Partner with business leaders to address challenges with cost and efficiency
• Infuse milestone and progress-centric execution focus across the organization
   

Business Acumen: 

• Navigate conflicting goals and competing forces across business groups while building strong relationships
• Understand business context, frameworks, and processes critical to delivery of services and organizational success measures
• Understand, communicate, and foster the aviation operational context around regulatory sensitivity, safety culture, and how technology decisions affect crew, operations, maintenance, training, and support functions.
• Manage application development resources to maximize business value
   

Financial Management:

• Understand organizational priorities and align resources/assets accordingly
• Partner with other stakeholders on vendor and contract management, build-versus-buy decisions, software licensing, capitalization, and accountability for total cost of ownership

Employee Development:

• Support a culture that attracts and retains outstanding talent with a passion for the aviation industry and Republic Airways, including through community engagement and leadership
• Bring passion for coaching and developing individual contributors and managers
• Recognize talent and create an environment that fosters psychological safety, accountability, and continuous learning
• Grow engineering and automation depth and capability at the individual and organizational level
• Set challenging goals and provide the coaching and training required to achieve them
• Create an environment of accountability and ownership, where employees understand what is expected of them and own the results they produce

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability necessary to perform this job.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, Business, or related field; equivalent experience may be considered
• 5+ years as enterprise-wide and critical platform IT leader, responsible for operational performance of critical systems
• 5+ years in IT leadership, delivering transformational changes within regulated environments (aviation, transportation, shipping/delivery, etc.)
• 5+ years in roles as an upline manager of managers, with experience developing individuals into roles with increased span
• Hands-on technical experience with previous roles in architecture, software engineering, platform team leadership, QA leadership, data/BI development, or similar. 
• Direct experience with enterprise stakeholder roadmap planning, relationship development, and alignment
   

PREFERRED EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE

• Experience with cloud platforms, data/BI platforms, integration architecture, software engineering, DevOps practices, QA, automation, vendor management, and enterprise architecture (TOGAF or similar)
• Successful use of AI and related technologies (generative and agentic AI, RPA, machine learning) to improve operational efficiency delivery of IT solutions and/or business operations
• Experience with continuous improvement tools/methods
• Work with ITIL or similar frameworks to leverage principles as appropriate

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Ability to read, analyze, and interpret the most complex documents.  Ability to respond effectively to the most sensitive inquiries or situations.  Polished executive presence with an ability to influence across technical and non-technical audiences. 

REASONING/PROBLEM SOLVING ABILITY

Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.

DECISION MAKING

Makes decisions on long-term objectives, resources and policies as part of the IT Leadership team.  Decisions have the highest impact across and outside of organization.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an associate to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

• Able to move about the work environment. 
• Frequently required to stand, walk, sit, talk and hear.
• Able to focus with clear vision at 20 inches or less (computer screen) and identify and distinguish colors (color vision).

WORK ENVIRONMENT

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an associate encounter while performing the essential functions of this job.

Typically not exposed to extreme environmental conditions.

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS

Travel up to 5% of the time.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER, DISABILITY, AND VETERAN ACCOMODATIONS

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Equal Opportunity Employer, Disability and Veteran Accommodations

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.