Head of Autonomy / Chief Digital Officer (CDO)

CONFIDENTIAL RETAINED SEARCH | AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE

Search Reference: TNF-CDO-2026 | Autonomy and Digital Leadership Mandate

ABOUT THIS SEARCH

Top Notch Finders has been retained on an exclusive and strictly confidential basis to identify a Head of Autonomy / Chief Digital Officer for a well-established aerospace and defense organization. To protect the interests of our client and of every candidate who engages with us, the identity of the company and the locations of its facilities are disclosed only to qualified candidates under a confidentiality agreement. All inquiries and applications are received and managed solely by Top Notch Finders.

POSITION SNAPSHOT

• Reports to: CEO or CTO.
• Location: Hybrid, with a strong presence at flight test and integration facilities; specifics disclosed to qualified candidates.
• Clearance: TS/SCI required for most autonomy programs.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The Head of Autonomy/CDO leads development of autonomous systems and/or enterprise digital transformation strategy, with scope varying by organization from internal digital tooling to ownership of entire AI-enabled product lines, including collaborative combat aircraft and uncrewed systems.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Lead autonomy software and systems development from concept through test, integration, and fielding.
• Own digital transformation strategy across engineering, manufacturing, and customer-facing digital products.
• Manage relationships with government customers on autonomy program requirements and test events.
• Build and scale autonomy and software engineering teams.
• Define and defend the scope of the CDO/autonomy mandate clearly to the board, given wide title variability across the industry.
• Drive integration between autonomy software stacks and legacy hardware platforms.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 12+ years in autonomous systems, robotics, or digital transformation leadership.
• Demonstrated experience taking autonomy capability from prototype to fielded system.
• Active or recently held security clearance.
• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.
• Experience navigating DoD test and certification processes for autonomous systems.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience at a newer defense-tech company, such as an autonomy or software-native prime.
• Background bridging traditional hardware-centric and software-native development cultures.
• Track record clarifying and scoping ambiguous digital and autonomy mandates for boards.

CONFIDENTIALITY AND HOW TO APPLY

This is a discreet, retained engagement. Your candidacy will never be presented to any organization without your explicit prior authorization, and no application will be visible to the hiring company at this stage. Accomplished autonomy and digital executives with cleared-environment credentials are invited to submit a resume in confidence through the Top Notch Finders website. Please reference search code TNF-CDO-2026 in your submission. Do not include classified or program-sensitive information of any kind in your application materials. Only candidates whose backgrounds align closely with the mandate will be contacted.