Job DescriptionTHE OPPORTUNITY Organizations are navigating one of the most consequential workforce moments in a generation. AI is no longer a roadmap item; it is reshaping how companies manage their people, run their HR processes, and connect workforce decisions to business outcomes. SAP SuccessFactors is at the center of that shift.
We are looking for an engineering leader who can make Autonomous HCM, already real and in customers' hands, faster, stronger, and ready to scale globally. This is the role that builds the platform where AI connects every person, insight, and action, across the full HCM portfolio, for the world's largest organizations, in 160 countries.
You will report directly to the GM and Chief Product Officer of SAP SuccessFactors and partner closely with product, design, and go-to-market leadership to define and execute the engineering strategy. This is not a role for someone who wants to maintain the status quo. It is a role for someone who wants to lead a once-in-a-decade technology transition.
WHAT YOU WILL DO - Manage engineering budgets and resource allocation with rigor, balancing sustaining investment, AI innovation, and product development
- Own the engineering strategy and execution for SAP SuccessFactors, including HR, talent, learning, workforce planning, employee experience, and the AI and agentic capabilities that run across all of them
- Lead and grow a world-class global engineering organization of 1,000+ engineers, building a culture of ownership, technical excellence, and relentless customer focus
- Drive the delivery of Autonomous HCM, with AI agents that don't just answer HR questions but take action, orchestrate across business processes, connect people data to business outcomes, and provide best-in-class AI to solve business problems
- Partner with the CPO and product leadership to translate the Autonomous HCM vision into a concrete engineering roadmap with clear priorities, milestones, and accountability
- Ensure SAP's enterprise data foundation, the deepest in the industry, spanning workforce, financial, and operational data, powers a new generation of AI capabilities that no standalone point solution can replicate
- Drive high-velocity, high-quality delivery through modern engineering practices: AI-assisted development, continuous delivery, DevOps, and rigorous operational excellence
- Continuously transform engineering practices, operating models, and team capabilities so the organization remains at the leading edge of technology adoption
- Build and maintain SAP's platform extensibility and partner ecosystem, ensuring customers and system integrators can extend and configure solutions to their specific needs
- Represent engineering leadership externally with customers, analysts, and partners, communicating the vision and progress of Autonomous HCM with clarity and conviction
QualificationsWHAT YOU BRINGThe right candidate brings together technical depth, business judgment, and people leadership at scale.
- 15+ years of engineering leadership experience, including 5+ years leading large global teams (500+ engineers) delivering AI-powered / AI-native enterprise SaaS products
- Proven track record of leading major technology transitions, ideally including a shift to AI-native or agentic product architectures, not just incremental improvement
- Deep knowledge of modern AI/ML technologies, LLM-based agent frameworks, cloud infrastructure, and enterprise data platforms; strong enough to earn credibility with architects and senior engineers
- Experience building and shipping AI-powered / AI-native enterprise products at scale, from early prototype through GA, EAC programs, and broad customer adoption
- Strong product sensibility and the ability to partner with CPO-level leadership to shape roadmap, not just execute against it
- Demonstrated ability to attract, develop, and retain exceptional engineering talent in a highly competitive market
- Experience navigating large, matrixed organizations, managing cross-functional dependencies, influencing without authority, and building coalitions across SAP's global engineering community
- Exceptional communicator and influencer, able to speak with clarity to engineers, customers, executives, and the press; comfortable representing the company externally
- BS in Computer Science or a related technical field; advanced degree a plus
Ideal Location is Palo Alto, CA
