We are seeking a senior technology leader to own and evolve the complete software ecosystem for advanced hardware platforms. This role is responsible for defining strategy, architecture, execution, and delivery of production-grade software that spans embedded systems through customer-facing tools.

The Director of Software Engineering will scale teams, mature development processes, and ensure software excellence in highly complex, performance-critical environments.

This position is ideal for a hands-on leader who thrives in deep-technology environments, partners closely with hardware and systems teams, and drives software as a strategic differentiator.

Key Responsibilities

Software Strategy & Architecture

• Define and own the end-to-end software architecture across firmware, system software, SDKs, tools, and application layers.
• Ensure seamless hardware–software integration for complex, high-performance systems.
• Drive architectural decisions that emphasize scalability, modularity, reliability, and long-term maintainability.

Execution & Delivery

• Lead the full software development lifecycle from concept through production release and customer deployment.
• Establish predictable, high-quality release processes with strong emphasis on documentation, validation, security, and performance.
• Oversee development of validation frameworks, demonstration tools, and customer enablement software.

Process & Engineering Excellence

• Build and continuously refine modern software development practices, including Agile methodologies, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and DevOps workflows.
• Set quality standards and ensure compliance with production and reliability requirements.
• Proactively manage technical debt and guide adoption of new technologies where they add measurable value.

Team Leadership & Growth

• Build, mentor, and scale high-performing, geographically distributed software teams.
• Align team structure, skills, and capacity with business objectives and long-term product roadmaps.
• Foster a culture of accountability, technical rigor, and continuous improvement.

Cross-Functional & Customer Engagement

• Partner closely with hardware, systems, product management, and executive leadership to align software priorities with company strategy.
• Engage directly with internal and external customers to understand technical requirements and translate them into robust solutions.
• Represent software engineering at senior leadership level and influence company-wide technical direction.

Required Skills & Capabilities

• Proven ability to design and deliver complex, production-grade software systems tightly integrated with hardware.
• Strong command of software architecture principles, including abstraction layers, APIs, and platform-based design.
• Deep understanding of modern software development methodologies and toolchains (Agile/Scrum, CI/CD, automated testing, DevOps).
• Excellent program leadership skills, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives and long-term roadmaps.
• Strong communication and stakeholder-management skills, including executive-level technical influence.

Experience & Background

• 12+ years of senior-level software engineering experience in hardware-centric or systems-driven industries.
• Demonstrated success leading large, distributed, multidisciplinary software organizations.

Hands-on technical background across much of the software stack, including:

• Embedded firmware and low-level systems software.
• Device drivers and hardware abstraction layers.
• OS-level development (Linux and/or RTOS).
• SDKs, APIs, and developer-facing tools.
• System software and application-level components.
• Experience with high-performance or high-speed interface technologies such as PCIe, CXL, NVMe, or Ethernet.
• Strong exposure to system-level integration in data center, enterprise, or performance-critical computing environments.
• Background in SoC/ASIC development, memory technologies, compute acceleration, or infrastructure platforms is highly desirable.

If this role aligns with your experience and ambitions, we encourage you to apply now. Alternatively, you may send your CV or an initial enquiry in confidence to [email protected]. Suitable candidates will be contacted directly for a confidential discussion.

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In accordance with local employment laws, applicants must have current, valid authorisation to work in Switzerland at the time of application. We are unable to sponsor employment visas for this role. Applications from individuals without existing work authorisation for Switzerland cannot be considered.