Director, Software Engineering

Advantest America Inc. is part of Advantest Corporation, the world's largest provider of automated test equipment (ATE) for the semiconductor industry. The company designs and manufactures cutting-edge testing solutions that help semiconductor manufacturers ensure the quality and performance of their products. Advantest is known for innovation, reliability, and a strong commitment to supporting its customers and employees.

• Mission:
  Improve lives through advanced technologies and customer-focused innovation.
• Vision:
  Be the most trusted and valued test solution provider in the semiconductor value chain.

• I
  - Innovation is our Lifeblood
• N
  - Number One is Our Aspiration
• T
  - Trust is our Foundation
• E
  - Empowerment is Our Motivation
• G
  - Global is our Reach
• R
  - Respect is our Heart
• I - Inclusion and Diversity is Our Commitment
• T
  - Teamwork is our Approach
• Y
  - Yes is Our Attitude

At Advantest, innovation starts with people. We're looking for curious, capable, and collaborative individuals ready to shape the future of semiconductor technology. You'll join a global team where your ideas are valued, your growth is supported, and your work makes a real impact.

We foster an integrity-centered culture, where honesty, inclusion, and respect are the foundation of everything we do.

Director, Software Engineering

Position Overview

We are seeking a Director of Software Engineering to lead Hardware System Integration, Handler, Test Engineering, and Portfolio Engineering for semiconductor test platforms supporting SLT, Burn-In, HPC, and ATE.

The role leads global teams responsible for equipment-control software, material handling integration, test engineering, factory interfaces, production data, and shared software capabilities.

This position is expected to be highly technical and hands-on with software and hardware, with approximately 50 % of time spent directly coding, debugging, and solving complex technical issues across the semiconductor test ecosystem.

Key Responsibilities

• Translate engineering strategy into engineering plans, technical milestones, resource plans, and delivery schedules.
• Lead software managers, technical leads, developers, and test engineers across Thermal, System Integration, Handler, Test, and Portfolio Engineering.
• Drive execution across multiple products and customer programs and ensure teams deliver committed milestones.
• Align software development, integration, validation, and release schedules with SW Product Management and Hardware TPMs.
• Lead software integration across testers, handlers, thermal systems, device interfaces, PLCs, firmware, and equipment-control systems.
• Lead development of communication interfaces for material handling, factory automation, and factory management systems.
• Lead GEM/SECS, EAC/EAP, lot processing, alarms, availability reporting, equipment telemetry, and production data capabilities.
• Lead automated validation, hardware-in-the-loop testing, regression, endurance testing, system qualification, and production readiness.
• Improve throughput, reliability, availability, recovery, and downtime through system performance analysis.
• Drive reuse and standardization of APIs, SDKs, messaging, data models, logging, diagnostics, and common software components.
• Ensure customer requirements are implemented as scalable, configurable product capabilities.
• Track milestones, dependencies, risks, quality, integration readiness, and release criteria across the portfolio.
• Improve software development, testing, validation, and release processes.
• Coordinate execution with Product Management, Program Management, Business Development, Hardware, Firmware, QA, Production, Applications, and Product Support.
• Lead adoption of AI-assisted software development, testing, diagnostics, and documentation.
• Conduct architecture, design, integration, and release-readiness reviews.
• Present technical and program-readiness reviews to customers and internal leadership.
• Support customer technical discussions, system bring-up, escalations, and production deployments.
• Conduct performance reviews, set goals, mentor leaders, and support succession planning.
• All other duties as assigned.

Required Skills & Experience

• B.S in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering with a strong software background, Software Engineering, or related field; M.S. preferred.
• 15+ years of software engineering or related technical experience.
• 10+ years of technical engineering management experience.
• 3+ years…