Director, Software Engineering and Platform Development

Overview

We are seeking an accomplished Director of Research & Development to lead the execution of our next-generation Engineering Intelligence Platform and drive the transformation of our engineering organization. The ideal candidate has a proven track record of building high-performing software engineering organizations, leading pod-based concurrent engineering teams, and delivering innovative enterprise software products while successfully executing ambitious product roadmaps and New Product Introduction (NPI) milestones within challenging market timelines.

Keysight is at the forefront of technology innovation, delivering breakthroughs and trusted insights in electronic design, simulation, prototyping, test, manufacturing, and optimization. Our ~16,800 employees create world-class solutions in communications, 5G, automotive, energy, quantum, aerospace, defense, and semiconductor markets for customers in over 100 countries. Learn more about what we do.

Our award-winning culture embraces a bold vision of where technology can take us and a passion for tackling challenging problems with industry-first solutions. We believe that when people feel a sense of belonging, they can be more creative, innovative, and thrive at all points in their careers.

• Lead the R&D organization responsible for development and delivery of enterprise software platforms and products.
• Build and lead a modern pod-based engineering organization that enables concurrent engineering, rapid decision-making, clear ownership, and predictable execution.
• Drive execution of ambitious product roadmaps and New Product Introduction (NPI) programs while balancing quality, innovation, and schedule commitments.
• Develop engineering operating rhythms, metrics, and governance that improve execution velocity, accountability, and release predictability.
• Recruit, coach, mentor, and develop high-performing engineering leaders and software engineers.
• Partner closely with Product Management, Architecture, Customer Success, Sales, and Executive Leadership to translate strategy into executable engineering plans.
• Lead technical planning, architecture reviews, risk management, and engineering prioritization across multiple concurrent initiatives.
• Champion modern software engineering practices including Agile, CI/CD, Dev Ops, cloud-native development, automated testing, engineering productivity, and AI-assisted development.
• Create a culture of urgency, ownership, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Build scalable engineering processes that support future organizational growth and global collaboration.

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 12+ years of software engineering experience with at least 5 years leading multiple engineering teams or managers.
• Demonstrated success leading pod-based engineering organizations, concurrent engineering, or comparable product development operating models.
• Proven track record delivering complex enterprise software products while meeting ambitious NPI schedules and business commitments.
• Experience leading organizational transformation, engineering process improvement, and execution excellence initiatives.
• Strong technical background in enterprise software, distributed systems, cloud platforms, APIs, platform engineering, microservices, CI/CD, and Dev Ops.
• Experience recruiting, developing, and retaining high-performing engineering talent.
• Excellent communication, executive presentation, stakeholder management, and cross-functional leadership skills.

Preferred

• Experience in semiconductor, Electronic Design Automation (EDA), Computer Aided Engineering (CAE), engineering workflow, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Dev Ops, or enterprise platform software.
• Experience leading development of AI-enabled software products or platforms.
• Experience building workflow orchestration, engineering collaboration, knowledge management, digital thread, or engineering intelligence solutions.
• Experience leading geographically distributed engineering teams.

Leadership Attributes

• Execution-oriented with a bias for action.
• Builds accountable, empowered engineering teams.
• Thrives in fast-paced, high-growth product environments.
• Balances technical excellence with business outcomes.
• Leads organizational change with transparency and integrity.
• Inspires collaboration and develops future engineering leaders.

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Santa Clara, CA: MIN $ - MAX $

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