Director of Engineering

Maxar is looking for a Director of Engineering to lead and grow our Insights Engine team. This team is responsible for leveraging a rich database of geospatial data to deliver automated insights that meet customer needs. The team develops algorithms by applying cutting edge techniques in data science and machine learning, ensures robust and reliable systems for model development and deployment, and has operational oversight of assets, model training, and quality control. 

In this role, the Director will report to the VP of Customer Platforms and Insights. They are expected to partner constructively with peer engineering teams delivering product experiences, data teams providing high quality imagery products, and product/go-to-market leads defining our roadmaps and priorities. The position requires fundamental expertise in emerging machine learning technologies, such as Transformers, LLMs, and Computer Vision, as well as the ability to design and deliver backend capabilities to help scale, accelerate, and optimize access to data and workflows. 

The position can be performed remotely within the United States; though the team is based in Westminster, CO. 

Responsibilities include: 

• Lead and manage a multi-layered team including data scientists, software engineers, and operational functions. 

• Grow the team and capabilities by recruiting and hiring new talent, identifying and entering strategic partnerships, and licensing/incorporating 3rd party services and technologies. 

• Own the technical strategy for the org, and partner with peers to define and meet the product strategy. 

• Seen as a technical expert, representing the team and company in topics relevant to their role. Actively participate in technical work and design, leading by example. 

• Organize and drive development efforts within their team; accountable for defining and meeting development objectives. 

• Establishes and assures adherence to budgets and operational requirements (security, performance, quality, etc). 

• Regularly interacts with stakeholders and executives to communicate status, help shape strategy, and improve execution.   

• Is collaborative, a proactive communicator, strives to improve teamwork and execution, and sets positive values and standards within their organization. 

Requirements/Skills  

Our team’s minimum requirements for this position:   

• Must be a U.S. citizen  

• Bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in a related field, (e.g., Computer Science, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Applied Math, etc.) 

• 10+ years of experience with professional software development and algorithm design, including proven experience delivering software into scaled production environments 

• Significant experience managing a multi-layered organization 

• Ability to work independently and collaboratively with remote and/or geographically distributed teams. 

• Familiarity with the following:  

• Data science and ML model development, 

• Geospatial problems and datasets, 

• Data systems development, including database design, data modeling, and dataset management, 

• Cloud technologies like AWS or Azure, with a focus on services like RDS, EKS, and S3/ECR, 

• Managed infrastructure like Kubernetes & Docker. 

Preferred qualifications:   

• Master’s or Ph.D. in a related field, (e.g., Computer Science, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Applied Math, etc.)  

• Experience in emerging modeling techniques (Foundational Models, LLMs, YOLOV8, Graph Ontologies, etc)  

• Experience leading and managing program and operational functions 

• Experience using machine learning development frameworks and machine learning operations technologies, such as PyTorch and/or Tensorflow and knowledge of utilizing platforms built on top of Terraform with Helm, or other infrastructure-as-code tools. 

Life with Us