Director of Software Engineering

Role Description

We are seeking a Director of Software Engineering for Datacor Engineering Software Group (DESG), which encompasses three respected product families: CHEMCAD, Flow Simulation (Fathom, Arrow, Impulse, xStream), and GoldSim. This role will oversee the technical direction and development operations for these teams, driving modernization, improved software delivery practices, and long-term architectural planning.

The Director will report to the General Manager of DESG and partner closely with Product Management, R&D, and Strategy to align development activities with customer value and business objectives. The right candidate will be an engineering leader with strong technical judgment, modern development process expertise, and a pragmatic approach to evolving legacy systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage software development teams across CHEMCAD, Flow Simulation, and GoldSim product lines.
• Establish and continuously improve development practices, including version control, code reviews, automated testing, CI/CD, and agile processes.
• Own DESG's internal AI adoption strategy, moving the engineering to a deliberate, prioritized approach with respect to AI-assisted development tools and workflows.
• Champion an AI-first, growth mindset, pushing the team to experiment, learn continuously, and adapt as tools and practices evolve.
• Drive measurable improvements in throughput, release cadence, and quality using engineering metrics (e.g., cycle time, lead time, defect rates).
• Partner with Product Management and R&D leadership to execute on roadmap priorities and customer deliverables.
• Define and lead a point of view on AI within the products themselves, partnering with Product Management to identify, prioritize, and deliver AI-powered capabilities.
• Proactively identify technical debt and architectural risk before they become urgent, making timely decisions on remediation, refactoring, or re-platforming.
• Mentor, coach, and grow a high-performing team of engineers with varied backgrounds, focusing on developing team leads into strong, independent people leaders.
• Set and personally uphold a high hiring bar across engineering roles, staying actively involved in key interview loops.
• Foster a collaborative and engineering-first culture that blends scientific rigor with modern software craftsmanship.
• Anticipate where the platforms need to evolve and own the long-term architectural vision for both platforms.
• Build the engineering standards, onboarding practices, and integration playbooks that let DESG absorb future acquisitions repeatably.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with other Datacor units to promote shared learning, tools, and process maturity.
• Ensure effective technical communication and knowledge sharing across geographically distributed teams.
• Build succession planning, internal mobility paths, and future engineering leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• 7+ years of experience in software development, including 3+ years in engineering management or technical leadership.
• Track record operating at a Director level of scope, building team structure, engineering strategy, and roadmap direction.
• Demonstrated experience improving legacy development environments and guiding teams through modernization.
• Strong understanding of modern software architecture principles (modularization, service decomposition, interface design).
• Familiarity with Microsoft-based ecosystems (e.g., .NET, C++, VB.NET).
• Experience scaling engineering teams and delivering commercial desktop or simulation software is a strong plus.
• Proven success introducing or evolving Agile practices in teams with limited historical process.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and collaboration skills—especially when aligning with product and R&D counterparts.

Preferred Qualifications

• Exposure to simulation or scientific modeling in chemical or mechanical engineering domains.
• Experience with Git-based workflows, branching strategies, and DevOps automation.
• Familiarity with tools such as Jira, Notion, and Nave (or other Agile metrics platforms).
• Experience building engineering practices and playbooks that scaled across multiple acquired products or teams.
• Experience managing remote teams, including international teams.
• Background in managing cross-functional or multidisciplinary engineering teams.

EOE Statement

Datacor is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic.

Use of AI During Interviews

At Datacor, we value thoughtful problem-solving and authentic perspectives. To ensure a fair and consistent evaluation process, we ask that candidates do not use generative AI tools or outside assistance during live interviews unless explicitly stated otherwise.