Summary of Role:Role mission: Build and lead a customer-facing systems and solutions engineering function that translates customer product architectures into processor, mixed-signal IP, platform, software, and product-roadmap requirements. This is customer product systems engineering, not internal silicon/IP development ownership.
The Director, Systems & Solutions Engineering will establish and scale a new customer-facing systems team for the Custom Digital MCU/MPU business. The leader will work directly with customer engineering organizations to understand product architectures, identify system-level requirements, position GF/MIPS processor and design/IP capabilities, and translate learnings into actionable product roadmap needs for product management, silicon architecture, software, and engineering teams.
The role requires a rare combination of customer credibility, embedded processor systems depth, hardware/software fluency, and commercial design-win orientation. The successful candidate will be equally comfortable with customer chief engineers, product executives, internal software, Hardware and IP engineering teams, sales leaders, and hands-on systems engineers.
Essential Responsibilities:- Build and lead the Systems & Solutions Engineering team covering 32-bit MCU and 64-bit MPU product portfolios across multiple markets.
- Serve as first-line technical interface to strategic customer engineering teams; understand customer product architectures, pain points, competitive alternatives, and roadmap timing.
- Translate customer system requirements into processor, mixed-signal IP, safety/security, connectivity, software, package, toolchain, and product roadmap requirements.
- Develop market-specific solution narratives for SDV/zonal, chassis and body control, robotics, motor drive, industrial automation, networking/infrastructure, e-mobility, and Edge AI.
- Partner with product management and silicon/software engineering to prioritize roadmap investments and derivative platform opportunities.
- Support major design-win pursuits with technical differentiation, architecture positioning, competitive analysis, NRE/derivative framing, and executive customer engagement.
- Create reusable system collateral: reference architectures, competitive tear-downs, customer requirement matrices, software/hardware partitioning guides, and market playbooks.
- Build relationships with customer decision makers in engineering, architecture, platform, and advanced technology organizations.
- Establish operating rhythms between sales, product, architecture, design, software, and customer teams to ensure field learnings become roadmap action.
Other Responsibilities: - Perform all activities in a safe and responsible manner and support all Environmental, Health, Safety & Security requirements and programs.
Required Qualifications - 15+ years of semiconductor, embedded processor, systems, applications engineering, product architecture, or customer solutions experience.
- Strong background in MCU/MPU products, embedded software, system architecture, customer product requirements, and hardware/software partitioning.
- Demonstrated experience working directly with customer engineering organizations and influencing design decisions.
- Track record of closing or materially supporting design wins, platform wins, or strategic customer engagements.
- Ability to lead through influence across product management, sales, silicon architecture, software, and design engineering.
- Proven ability to hire, mentor, and scale high-performing technical teams.
- Excellent executive communication skills; able to simplify complex technical tradeoffs for business and customer audiences.
Preferred Background / Target Talent Pools - Applications, systems, product architecture, or customer engineering leadership from Embedded Processor companies.
- Customer-side systems architecture experience from automotive Tier-1s/OEMs, industrial automation, robotics, networking, or infrastructure companies.
- Experience with functional safety, cybersecurity, secure boot/HSM, AUTOSAR or embedded Linux/RTOS ecosystems, and long-lifecycle industrial or automotive products.
- Established credibility and network with engineering decision makers in one or more priority verticals.
Success Measures - Systems team staffed and operating with clear vertical ownership and repeatable customer engagement process.
- Customer requirements converted into prioritized roadmap inputs and derivative platform opportunities.
- Improved technical win rate in strategic pursuits through earlier architecture engagement and sharper positioning.
- Reusable market playbooks created for SDV/zonal, robotics/motor drive, industrial automation, networking/infrastructure, and Edge AI.
- Deep engineering relationships established with target customers and ecosystem partners.
Expected Salary Range$191,000.00 - $332,000.00
The exact Salary will be determined based on qualifications, experience and location.
