Director, Design Engineering - Software

Celestica International LP; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Celestica in San Jose seeks a Director of Design Engineering - Software to lead a high-performing engineering team and manage strategic customer engagements. You will oversee design, development and delivery of innovative software solutions, guiding quality, scope and budgets.

You will mentor engineers, promote best practices, and apply cloud, microservices, and AI/ML techniques to solve complex customer challenges.

Qualifications

• Fifteen plus years of experience in software engineering.
• Strong foundation in software engineering principles, design patterns, and relevant technologies (e.g., cloud computing, microservices, AI/ML).
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills with proven ability to build customer relationships.

Responsibilities

• Lead Customer Engagement: be the primary technical contact for a key customer and define project scope, requirements and success criteria.
• Mentor a team of engineers, fostering innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Oversee design, development and delivery of tech solutions, leveraging emerging technologies like AI/ML.
• Champion engineering best practices including code reviews, testing and documentation to ensure high quality deliverables.
• Drive continuous improvement in engineering processes and methodologies.

Skills

People leadership

Customer engagement

Software engineering

Cloud computing

Microservices

AI/ML

Code reviews

Testing

Documentation

Quality assurance

Emerging technologies

Strategic thinking

Thought leadership

Communication skills

Presentation skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Tools

Cloud platforms

Microservices

AI/ML frameworks

Job description

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Director, Design Engineering - Software

Date: Oct 30, 2026

Location: San Jose, CA, US

Summary

As a people leader, the leader will build and groom a team of high performing engineers, working with them on objective setting and professional development initiatives.

The candidate will have overall responsibility for quality, customer engagement (Engineering) planning, budgeting, implementing and maintaining costs in a functional area. The candidate will regularly interact with executives and/or major customers. Interactions may involve readouts, strategic direction setting or responding professionally and proactively to any potential escalations. They may also represent the organization in public speaking venues and/or community events.

Detailed Description

Performs tasks such as, but not limited to, the following:

Lead Customer Engagement:

• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for a key customer, building strong relationships and understanding their needs.
• Collaborate closely with the customer to define project scope, requirements, and success criteria.
• Effectively communicate technical concepts and solutions to both technical and non-technical audiences at the customer.
• Ensure customer satisfaction by delivering high-quality solutions that meet their expectations and timelines

• Lead and mentor a team of engineers, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Oversee the design, development, and delivery of cutting-edge technology solutions, leveraging emerging technologies (e.g., AI, ML, IoT).
• Champion engineering best practices, including code reviews, testing, and documentation, to ensure high-quality deliverables.
• Drive continuous improvement in engineering processes and methodologies to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.

Ensure Quality Outcomes:

• Define and implement design processes and metrics to ensure that deliverables meet the highest standards.
• Proactively identify and mitigate risks to project success
• Champion a culture of quality throughout the engineering team and the customer engagement.

• Proven Leader: 15+ years of experience in software engineering, with a demonstrated ability to lead and deliver complex projects in a customer-facing role.
• Technical Depth: Strong foundation in software engineering principles, design patterns, and relevant technologies (e.g., cloud computing, microservices, AI/ML).
• Customer Focus: Excellent communication, interpersonal, and presentation skills, with a proven ability to build strong customer relationships.
• Quality Advocate: Deep understanding of quality assurance methodologies and a passion for delivering high-quality solutions.
• Emerging Tech Savvy: Experience with and understanding of emerging technologies, with the ability to identify and leverage them to solve customer challenges.
• Strategic Thinker: Able to translate customer needs into technical solutions and align engineering efforts with business goals.
• Thought leader: Be a thought leader for internal and external stakeholders, able to network effectively in a global environment.

Physical Demands

• Incumbent will perform the duties of this position in a normal office environment.

Typical Experience

• Fifteen plus years’ relevant experience

Typical Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or related field, or consideration of an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Advanced studies in Business/Operations/Technology are recommended.

Notes

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities of the position. Employees are held accountable for all duties of the job. Job duties and the % of time identified for any function are subject to change at any time.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.
Celestica's policy on equal employment opportunity prohibits discrimination based on race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran or disability status, or other characteristics protected by law.
This policy applies to hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits, job training, classification, referral and other aspects of employment and also states that retaliation against a person who files a charge of discrimination, participates in a discrimination proceeding, or otherwise opposes an unlawful employment practice will not be tolerated. All information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

COMPANY OVERVIEW:
Celestica (NYSE, TSX: CLS) enables the world's best brands. Through our recognized customer-centric approach, we partner with leading companies in Aerospace and Defense, Communications, Enterprise, HealthTech, Industrial, Capital Equipment and Energy to deliver solutions for their most complex challenges. As a leader in design, manufacturing, hardware platform and supply chain solutions, Celestica brings global expertise and insight at every stage of product development – from drawing board to full-scale production and after-market services for products from advanced medical devices, to highly engineered aviation systems, to next-generation hardware platform solutions for the Cloud. Headquartered in Toronto, with talented teams spanning 40+ locations in 13 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia, we imagine, develop and deliver a better future with our customers.

Celestica would like to thank all applicants, however, only qualified applicants will be contacted.
Celestica does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruitment agencies or fee based recruitment services.

This location is a US ITAR facility and these positions will involve the release of export controlled goods either directly to employees or through the employee's movement within the facility. As such, Celestica will require necessary information from all applicants upon an applicant's acceptance of employment to determine if any export control exemptions or licenses must be filed.

Nearest Major Market: San Jose
Nearest Secondary Market: Palo Alto
Job Segment: Testing, Facilities, Test Engineer, QA, Software Engineer, Technology, Operations, Engineering, Quality