Director R&D, US

Windward is the leading Maritime AI company, delivering mission-grade, multi-source intelligence for defense, intelligence agencies, law enforcement, and global trade. With an established US entity and a growing footprint in Washington, DC, we are now taking the next strategic step: standing up a dedicated US R&D function.

This role is the foundation of that effort. As Director, US R&D, you will be the first person to initiate and build Windward's R&D arm in the United States — working within an existing US organization, but creating something entirely new: a cleared, GovCloud-native engineering capability purpose-built to serve US federal customers at the highest classification levels.

You will own the migration of Windward's platform to a US Government Cloud environment, build and lead the US engineering team, and serve as the primary technical interface between our federal agency customers and Windward's global product and engineering organization.

What You'll Do

Establish Windward's US R&D Function Define the structure, processes, and operating model for Windward's inaugural US R&D team. Hire, mentor, and grow a high-performing team of cleared engineers and DevOps practitioners. Work within the existing US entity to integrate the new R&D function with current commercial and business development operations. Partner closely with Windward's global R&D leadership to align the US team with the broader engineering roadmap and architecture.

Lead the GovCloud Migration

Own the end-to-end technical migration of Windward's Maritime AI platform to a US GovCloud environment (AWS GovCloud, Azure Government, or equivalent). Architect and implement cloud infrastructure that meets FedRAMP, IL4/IL5, CMMC, NIST 800-53, and other applicable federal compliance frameworks. Build and maintain the full DevOps pipeline — CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code, container orchestration, observability, and incident response — within a cleared, controlled environment. Ensure the migrated platform meets all security, availability, and performance SLAs required for federal production deployments.

Develop and Maintain the Solution

Contribute hands-on development and technical design to platform features, integrations, and capability enhancements for the US federal market. Maintain, support, and continuously improve the live US production environment, acting as the escalation owner for critical issues. Establish engineering best practices, documentation standards, and operational runbooks for the US environment. Identify opportunities to adapt global platform capabilities to the specific operational and mission requirements of US federal customers.

Own the Customer Technical Relationship

Serve as the primary technical point of contact for US federal agency customers, owning the relationship from deployment through ongoing operations. Translate mission requirements and customer feedback into concrete engineering priorities for the global R&D team. Lead technical reviews, architecture sessions, and capability briefings with federal stakeholders.

Experience

10+ years of combined software engineering, DevOps, and cloud infrastructure experience, with at least 3–5 years in a senior technical leadership role. Proven, hands-on experience deploying and operating workloads in US GovCloud environments. Strong developer background with proficiency in at least one modern language (Python, Go, Java, or similar) and cloud-native, microservices architectures. Experience building or leading technical teams in cleared environments. Demonstrated track record as a customer-facing technical leader.

Clearance & Eligibility

Top Secret; TS/SCI - desired. Willingness to support clearance upgrades as required by the mission.