Head Of Digital Software Engineering (m/f/d), Toulouse

Airbus is a leading aircraft manufacturer with the most modern and comprehensive family of airliners on the market, ranging in capacity from 100 to more than 500 seats. Airbus champions innovative technologies and offers some of the world’s most fuel efficient and quiet aircraft. Airbus has sold over 13.800 aircraft to more than 360 customers worldwide. Airbus has achieved more than 8,000 deliveries since the first Airbus aircraft entered into service. Headquartered in Toulouse, France.

Tasks

• Lead, mentor and train a team of 100 highly skilled engineers in Europe (Germany, France, UK : 50 engineers) & India (50 engineers).
• Provide technical & business vision around Software Engineering as a way of delivering software and business value at scale.
• Manage a platform approach and business model with constant obsession on lowering TCO, ensuring mass scale adoption, customer focus & value (lead time and self-service).
• Drive Software Development Excellence through data centric approach and standard KPIs embedded in our digital supply chain contracts.
• Develop team members according to their career aspirations and competences.
• Develop Engagement / leadership / agility of the team and ensure overall efficiency against ambitious objectives.
• Define / lead & execute a compelling yet ambitious vision around Software Engineering and how it changes the way we deliver software @Airbus.
• Understand company priorities and strategy to decline an appropriate financial investment based on Business Case & data-driven approach.
• Track global tech advancements and embed them within Airbus operations to ensure long-term software competitiveness (AI).

• Steer organizational adaptation through rigorous portfolio analysis and considering core/non core activities, make or buy, and the balance between European and India teams.

• Dimensions of the role:

• Team size (Active Work force only):

• Total team size: 100.

• Direct reports (Operational): 7, including and 5 managers.

• Indirect reports (Functional): 3 in India, 1 senior group manager and 2 group managers.

Operating budget:

• NRCs 6 M€.
• RCs 20 M€.

Strategic dimension:

• Deliver and Maintain Software Platform for 12000+ developer internals and externals from all IM domains and business functions (mainly engineering).
• Collaborate across divisions and affiliates to harmonize Software Engineering platforms and to keep competitiveness advantages through global deals (group contracts).
• Drive adoption on all major platforms & programs.
• Deliver E2E experience across Software Engineering platforms to reduce the lead time and the complexity for our custumers.
• Build / launch the low-code / no-code product and construct a team around it that integrates with existing PSL capabilities & services.
• Integrate with other technical bricks like Identity and Access Management, Public and Private Cloud, Cyber Security and Digital Workplace and Extended Enterprise.

Profil

• Strategic Leadership: Visionary Leadership (Define and execute a 3-year technical roadmap), Change Leadership (Proven track record in driving large-scale organizational transformations and "make or buy" strategies), Leader as Coach (Passionate about mentoring diverse, multi-cultural teams), Executive Influence (Strong networking and negotiation skills).
• Technical Mastery: Software Engineering Roots (Minimum 5 years of hands-on coding experience mandatory) , Domain Authority (Deep expertise in DevSecOps, API-first, UX, Software Design), Platform Strategy (Expert at building Self-Service Platforms), Emerging Tech (AI and Low-Code/No-Code).
• Business & Operational Excellence: Financial Stewardship (Experience managing significant P&L €25M+), Service Excellence (Customer-first mindset), Global Delivery (Balancing European and Indian offshore operations).
• Requirements: 10+ years in senior technology leadership roles; Negotiation-level English (mandatory); French, German, or Spanish is a plus; Public speaker capable of translating complex tech.