Job Description:

Software Development and Test Automation Manager

Location: Airbus Defence and Space Romania, Bucharest | Interest Group: Software Engineering, Management

Contract Type/Working Time: Unlimited | Fulltime

Work Experience: Min. 12 Years (Required)

Your Mission as Software Development and Test Automation Manager

An opportunity has arisen in the Airbus Defence and Space Romania Engineering team for a key leadership position! If you are an experienced software developer with excellent technical and leadership skills, and enjoy working in a highly collaborative environment, this is your chance!

As a Software Development and Test Automation Manager, you will be responsible for bridging business objectives and technical execution, ensuring the software team is high-performing, well-aligned, and consistently delivers high-quality, valuable products and services.

You will be expected to oversee the entire Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)—from planning and design to deployment—to ensure projects are completed on time, on quality, within budget, and to specification. You will maintain a focus on technical excellence, ensuring the code is scalable, maintainable, and secure. This involves driving engineering best practices, managing technical debt, and making critical architectural decisions. Your role is also to ensure the team's technical roadmap and daily tasks are directly aligned with the overall business objectives and product vision.

Key Technical & Leadership Skills

• Team & Peer Collaboration: You are a core team player who actively fosters a collaborative environment not only within your team but also with peers, stakeholders, and other teams across the company to ensure seamless integration and alignment.
• Deep Technical Acumen: Understand the technical stack, system architecture, and core software engineering principles to provide credible guidance, evaluate risks, and offer effective solutions when the team faces technical roadblocks.
• Strategic Planning & Vision: Define the team's long-term and short-term objectives, create the technical roadmap, and ensure that the team's output aligns directly with the company's business goals.
• Process Mastery (Agile/Scrum): Proficiency in development methodologies (like Agile, Scrum, Kanban) to organize sprints, prioritize the backlog, manage resources, and ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget.
• Risk and Quality Management: The ability to proactively identify technical and project risks (e.g., security vulnerabilities, poor scalability) and implement best practices (like thorough code reviews, testing, and DevOps) to maintain high-quality software.
• Quality & Standards: Establish and enforce best practices for code quality, software integration, validation, and verification.
• Mentorship & Team Development: Provide hands-on guidance and technical mentorship to all engineers, facilitating collaboration across development, operations, and the wider organization.
• Feedback Integration: Lead initiatives to improve existing software components by systematically incorporating customer feedback and runtime performance data.

Requirements and Expertise

Experience

• Minimum 10 years of hands-on experience in a Software Engineering minimum 5 years in Technical Leadership roles.
• Proven track record in leading complex software projects with hands on experience in all SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) of a software product/project, with a must prior experience in at least 2 programming languages.

System Design / Architecture

• Minimum of 5 years in delivery of production ready software in distributed systems and cloud stack. Expertise in and understanding the technical stack, system architecture, and core engineering principles well enough to provide credible guidance, evaluate risks, and offer effective solutions when the team faces technical roadblocks.
• Deep familiarity system design and system architecture. At least 5 years’ experience in delivering production ready software systems in distributed and cloud stack.

Core Programming Languages and Technologies

• Experience and advanced knowledge in at least 2 programming language (e.g. Java, C++).
• Extensive experience using multiple programming languages and associated frameworks.
• Process Mastery (Agile/Scrum)
• Proficiency in development methodologies (like Agile, Scrum, Kanban) to organize sprints, prioritize the backlog, manage resources, and ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget.
• Risk and Quality Management
• The ability to proactively identify technical and project risks (e.g., security vulnerabilities, poor scalability) and implement best practices (like thorough code reviews, testing, and DevOps) to maintain high-quality software.

People & Leadership Skills:

• In line with the Airbus leadership model, manage direct team(s).
• Engage, develop and motivate the direct team(s), within Airbus Values using the HR processes & development tools. 
• Build a trustful and inclusive environment, promoting collaboration, facts driven decisions and an out of silos mindset.

• Ensure deliverables on time, cost and quality to ensure Customer Satisfaction; escalate risks and opportunities.
• Encourage innovation and continuous improvement by detecting and eliminating non added-value activities.
• Secure the business at short/mid/long term, contributing to increase Airbus profitability.
• Coaching and Mentoring: A focus on the career growth of team members. This includes creating development plans, delegating challenging tasks for growth, and supporting engineers who want to become technical leads or managers themselves.

• Communication: Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, essential for cross-functional alignment (developers, security, architects, stakeholders).
• Service Focus: Strong customer and service orientation, emphasizing reliability and delivery excellence.
• Teamwork: Proven ability to thrive in a multicultural team environment.

What We Offer You

• A leading role in developing mission-critical defence and space technologies.
• Exciting and meaningful projects with high technical complexity.
• Performance-related bonuses and a comprehensive package of benefits.
• Continuous education and training to support your professional growth.

This job requires an awareness of any potential compliance risks and a commitment to act with integrity, as the foundation for the Company’s success, reputation and sustainable growth.

Company:

Airbus Defence and Space Romania SRL

Employment Type:

Permanent

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Experience Level:

Professional

Job Family:

Leadership <JF-FA-EM>

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Airbus is committed to achieving workforce diversity and creating an inclusive working environment. We welcome all applications irrespective of social and cultural background, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religious belief.

Airbus is, and always has been, committed to equal opportunities for all. As such, we will never ask for any type of monetary exchange in the frame of a recruitment process. Any impersonation of Airbus to do so should be reported to emsom@airbus.com.

At Airbus, we support you to work, connect and collaborate more easily and flexibly. Wherever possible, we foster flexible working arrangements to stimulate innovative thinking.