THE ROLE
We're looking for a forward-thinking Cluster Technology Director to define, lead and continuously transform the technical vision for our Energy & Critical Infrastructure (ECI) cluster.
This is where we help utilities, grid operators, and technology providers keep energy flowing safely and reliably. Our teams build and assure the software behind smart metering and smart grids, substation and grid management, renewable energy, and the critical infrastructure that modern life depends on.
As CTD, you own the technical direction of the cluster. You set the architecture principles and reference roadmaps, you are the technical authority for safety-critical and mission-critical energy systems, and you make sure our engineering choices stay credible with customers, sound on cybersecurity and regulation, and reusable across projects. You work closely with multiple teams, raising the technical bar for everyone around you and turning energy-sector complexity into clear, buildable engineering.
Note: this is a single role with global impact across the cluster, open to applications from different cities in Portugal.
WHAT YOU'LL DO
- Define and lead the technology vision, principles, and reference roadmaps for the cluster, aligned with company strategy and the company's global direction
- Act as the technical authority for regulated, safety-critical energy software, across metering, head end systems, substations, grid, and renewables
- Grow the cluster on solid foundations, with architectures and assets that scale and get reused across customers
- Set the bar on cybersecurity, interoperability, and secure design for critical infrastructure, working to multiple standards
- Be the escalation point for the hardest architectural, safety, and regulatory calls, and make them fast
- Bring AI into energy delivery where it solves real problems, balancing innovation with security and regulation
- Work with the CTO to build the capabilities that sharpen Critical's edge as a trusted energy engineering partner
- Mentor senior engineers and architects across the cluster, and represent Critical in industry and standards forums
HOW YOU CAN INSPIRE
- You make hard calls quickly and with autonomy, taking decisions at your level rather than pushing every one upward, and you own what follows.
- You focus effort where it actually matters and step away from the opportunities that are not right for Critical, rather than chasing every deal.
- You see AI as the biggest shift of this generation and you act on it. You reshape how delivery itself works with AI, you do not just adopt the tools, and you raise the bar for everyone around you.
- You communicate with clarity and honesty, without ambiguity.
- You bring urgency and positive energy in equal measure.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
- 5+ years of software engineering and technical leadership experience, with significant time in energy, utilities, or critical infrastructure and in safety-critical or mission-critical systems
- Strong grasp of the energy ecosystem, from utilities, TSOs and DSOs to OEMs, metering vendors, and technology partners
- Expertise across the relevant architectures: smart metering and grid, head end systems, substation automation, embedded and connected platforms, energy data platforms
- Solid command of cybersecurity, interoperability, and secure design for regulated environments
- A practical view on AI and ML in operational energy, including value, risk, validation, and security
- Ability to communicate complex technical and regulatory topics clearly to customers, teams, and senior leadership
- Leading through influence, mentoring senior technical people across projects and customers
- Strong sense of responsibility toward safety, reliability, quality, and ethics
- Strategic, pragmatic, and resilient, with a bias for clarity, credibility, and execution
- Deeply aligned with Critical Software's mission and values
- Excellent English communication skills
WHAT WE OFFER
We invest in the people who make it all possible. Here's what that looks like in practice.
- Private health insurance
- Employee Assistance Programme (mental health, legal, financial support)
- Home office support
- Extra holidays: 2 additional days after year one, more as time goes on
- Extra parental leave: 2 additional months fully paid
- Gradual return-to-work support: We’ll help you ease back from long breaks
- Sabbatical programme for long-term employees
- Training, mentorship, and growth opportunities: we'll invest in where you want to go next
ABOUT CRITICAL SOFTWARE
Every day we work on missions across industries as diverse as aerospace, space, defence, transport, telecoms, government, energy, finance, and healthcare. Building better and safer isn’t a slogan. It’s how we show up in the world.
Critical Software is proud to be a Benefit Corporation. A Benefit Corporation differs from a standard corporation (C-Corporation): It is a for-profit business entity, legally defined in the US and other jurisdictions, whose legally defined goals include the positive impact on society, workers, the community and the environment, in addition to profit.
We are an equal opportunity workplace and committed to allow candidates with disabilities or neurodevelopmental conditions to prove their competencies to their full potential. We are willing to move the barriers that may prevent you from demonstrating that you are the right candidate for this role, so please let us know if you need some adjustment in your recruitment process.
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Skills Required
- 5+ years of software engineering and technical leadership experience with significant time in energy, utilities, or critical infrastructure and safety-critical systems
- Strong grasp of the energy ecosystem (utilities, TSOs, DSOs, OEMs, metering vendors, technology partners)
- Expertise in architectures: smart metering, grid/head-end systems, substation automation, embedded and connected platforms, energy data platforms
- Solid command of cybersecurity, interoperability, and secure design for regulated environments
- Practical experience or strong understanding of AI/ML applied to operational energy (value, risk, validation, security)
- Ability to communicate complex technical and regulatory topics clearly to customers, teams, and senior leadership
- Experience leading through influence and mentoring senior technical staff across projects and customers
- Strong sense of responsibility toward safety, reliability, quality, and ethics
- Excellent English communication skills
What We Do
At Critical Software, we believe our people are the core of who we are. Their talent, diversity, and ability to go beyond expectations shape everything we do. Working at Critical is about being part of a community built on purpose, values, and collaboration. Our commitment to engineering excellence makes us a trusted partner for some of the world’s leading companies in Aerospace, Railway, Medical Systems, Energy, Finance, and many more. We believe that technology is nothing without a passion to use it for good. That’s why we engineer change, helping to build a better and safer world through trusted and transformative technologies. Since 1998, we’ve helped companies in global industries like aerospace, transport, energy, healthcare and finance. Across the world, people and organisations depend on what we do. And we like that. Because it means that technology isn’t just our business. It’s our chance to help change the world. More than a company, we are a community. Our togetherness, culture and values are the foundations of who we are and what we do. We are proud to hold Benefit Corporation status, reflecting our commitment to sustainability, transparency, and business for good. We’re also one of only a few tech companies in the world to have both our waterfall and agile software development processes rated at CMMI® Level 5. Just as important as our technical expertise is our strong company culture, which guides us in everything we do. We’re recruiting for all of our locations right now and, if you’d like to find out more, please take a look at the careers section of our website.
