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.
- Robust 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.

📌 Group Head / Sr. DGM - Software Systems (Hadgaon)
🏢 Larsen u0026 Toubro
📍 Hadgaon