Vice President of R&D

Strategic & Technical Leadership

·         Define and execute the R&D roadmap to support the long-term maintenance of the legacy platform and the aggressive growth of the modern cloud-native solution.

·         Align product architecture and engineering priorities with business goals, client needs, and platform lifecycle considerations.

·         Promote software engineering best practices across cloud-native development, microservices architecture, secure integrations, and Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery operations.

Legacy & Modern Platform Oversight

·         Oversee ongoing maintenance and enhancement of the Oracle Forms-based system, managing complex, third-party interfaces and regulatory requirements.

·         Lead development of the modern OMS using Spring Boot, Angular, and PostgreSQL with scalable deployments via Docker and Kubernetes.

·         Guide the implementation of enterprise integration frameworks (RabbitMQ, Apache Camunda) and analytics/reporting solutions (JasperReports, Bold BI).

Team Development & Culture

·         Lead, mentor, and inspire a high-performing R&D organization of software engineers, architects, QA professionals, and product managers.

·         Foster a culture of ownership, continuous learning, and cross-functional collaboration.

Program & Delivery Management

·         Implement Agile delivery best practices to drive efficient development cycles and predictable outcomes.

·         Ensure delivery of R&D initiatives on time, within scope, and aligned with financial objectives.

Cross-Functional & Client Collaboration

·         Partner closely with Support, Operations, Sales, and Customer Success teams to ensure development efforts align with customer feedback and strategic priorities.

·         Maintain transparent communication across departments and with key external stakeholders.

Innovation & Continuous Improvement

·         Champion the adoption of modern tools, frameworks, and methodologies.

·         Explore and implement emerging technologies, including AI/ML, for potential application in areas like predictive analytics, automation, reporting, and decision support.

Budgeting & Resource Optimization

·         Manage the R&D budget with a strong focus on ROI.

·         Balance resource allocation across legacy support and innovation-driven development.

Key Qualifications

·         10+ years of progressive leadership experience in enterprise software R&D, including legacy system management and modern application development.

·         Technical expertise in Oracle Forms, Java Spring Boot, Angular, PostgreSQL, RabbitMQ, Docker, Kubernetes, Apache Camunda, JasperReports, and business intelligence tools.

·         Experience deploying and maintaining applications across cloud and hybrid infrastructures (Azure, AWS, on-prem).

·         Proven ability to lead distributed and cross-functional teams in a fast-paced environment.

·         Strong communication and strategic planning skills with executive presence and stakeholder engagement experience.

Preferred Qualifications

·         Background in justice, public safety, or government-sector software.

·         Familiarity with regulated or compliance-heavy environments.

·         Experience managing R&D P&L or departmental budgets.

·         Scrum Master, PMP, or related certifications.