Director of Engineering Operations

ScaleFlux; Milpitas (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

ScaleFlux is seeking a Director of Engineering Operations to act as the primary business and operations leader for the Engineering organization and partner to the VP of Engineering. This role focuses on enabling engineering excellence through strategic planning, governance, and cross-functional execution.

You will drive engineering business operations, contracts, procurement, and infrastructure planning, collaborating with Finance, Legal, IT, and Sales to ensure teams have the tools and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related field.
• 10+ years in semiconductor industry.
• Minimum 5 years in a fabless semiconductor company.
• Experience supporting semiconductor engineering organizations.
• Strong understanding of ASIC product lifecycle from architecture to production release.
• Experience leading engineering business operations, vendor management, or procurement.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the trusted operational advisor to the VP of Engineering.
• Lead engineering business operations, budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis.
• Lead engineering contracts and commercial engagement with Legal, Procurement, Sales, and Engineering.
• Develop and maintain executive dashboards, KPIs, and governance processes.
• Drive strategic sourcing, supplier relationships, and tool/infrastructure management.
• Foster cross-functional leadership with Finance, Legal, IT, HR, and Product Management.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Budgeting

Vendor management

Contract negotiations

Cross-functional collaboration

Executive reporting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field

Tools

Jira

Confluence

EDA software tools

Job description

ScaleFlux is seeking an experienced Director of Engineering Operations to serve as the principal business and operations leader for the Engineering organization and the trusted operational partner to the VP of Engineering.

This is a highly strategic leadership position responsible for building and scaling the operational foundation of a world-class fabless semiconductor engineering organization. The Director of Engineering Operations will lead engineering business operations, commercial and contract engagement, vendor management, engineering procurement, infrastructure planning, operational governance, and executive reporting.

The successful candidate will work closely with Engineering, Finance, Procurement, Legal, IT, Sales, Product Management, and executive leadership to ensure engineering teams have the tools, infrastructure, vendor partnerships, and operational support needed to successfully deliver innovative semiconductor products.

This is not a Technical Program Management or Project Management role. Project execution is owned by engineering managers and program managers. This role focuses on enabling engineering excellence through strategic planning, operational leadership, business management, and cross-functional execution.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Partner to the VP of Engineering

• Serve as the trusted operational advisor and business partner to the VP of Engineering.
• Drive strategic initiatives that improve engineering efficiency, scalability, and operational excellence.
• Represent the Engineering organization in executive-level cross-functional initiatives.
• Lead special projects on behalf of Engineering leadership.

Engineering Business Operations

• Lead annual engineering operating plans, including:

OPEX planning and forecasting

CAPEX planning

Budget tracking and variance analysis

• Develop executive dashboards, KPIs, and business metrics to support engineering leadership.
• Identify operational risks and recommend mitigation strategies.
• Drive continuous improvement across engineering operations.

Engineering Contracts & Commercial Engagement

• Lead engineering participation in commercial and technical contract discussions.
• Partner with Legal, Procurement, Sales, and Engineering to negotiate technical and business terms.
• Coordinate engineering review and approval for:

Evaluation agreements

Statements of Work (SOW)

Engineering service agreements

EDA software agreements

Semiconductor IP licensing agreements

Technology partnership agreements

• Ensure engineering commitments are technically achievable, clearly documented, and aligned with business objectives.

Lead strategic sourcing and procurement activities for engineering organizations.

Responsibilities include:

• EDA software
• Semiconductor IP
• Engineering software tools
• Cloud infrastructure
• Compute resources
• FPGA prototyping systems
• Laboratory equipment

Partner with Engineering and Procurement to:

• Define technical requirements
• Coordinate technical assessments
• Manage software renewals
• Build long-term strategic supplier relationships

Engineering Infrastructure Strategy

Work with Engineering, CAD, IT, and Infrastructure teams to develop long-term infrastructure strategies supporting engineering growth.

• Compute farms
• AI compute clusters
• Storage infrastructure
• Validation systems
• FPGA prototyping platforms
• Network infrastructure

Support long-term capacity planning and technology roadmaps.

Process Governance & Operational Excellence

Develop standardized operational processes across the Engineering organization.

• Design Change Notice (DCN) process
• Engineering operational policies

Drive adoption and continuous improvement of engineering systems including:

• Jira
• Confluence
• Other engineering productivity tools

Cross-functional Leadership

Partner closely with:

• Finance
• Legal
• Procurement
• IT
• HR
• Product Management

Act as Engineering’s primary operational representative across the company.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of experience within the semiconductor industry.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a fabless semiconductor company.
• Demonstrated experience supporting semiconductor engineering organizations.
• Strong understanding of the ASIC product development lifecycle, including architecture, RTL development, verification, silicon bring-up, validation, product engineering, manufacturing, and production release.
• Experience leading engineering business operations, vendor management, procurement, or engineering operational functions.
• Experience working with EDA vendors, semiconductor IP providers, foundries, and technology partners.
• Experience participating in engineering contract negotiations and commercial discussions.
• Strong understanding of engineering budgeting, forecasting, and operational planning.
• Exceptional analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written, verbal, and executive presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional organizations without direct authority.

Preferred

• MBA or master’s degree in engineering or business.
• Experience with leading EDA vendors including Synopsys, Cadence, Siemens EDA, Ansys, or similar.
• Experience working with major semiconductor foundries such as TSMC, Samsung Foundry, UMC, or GlobalFoundries.
• Experience with semiconductor IP licensing and technology partnerships.
• Familiarity with engineering collaboration platforms including Jira, Confluence, and Jira Service Management.
• Professional proficiency in English is required. Professional proficiency in Mandarin Chinese is highly desirable to facilitate collaboration with engineering teams, foundry partners, IP providers, and vendors across Asia.

Leadership Characteristics

The successful candidate will demonstrate:

• Executive presence and sound business judgment.
• Strong commercial acumen and negotiation skills.
• High integrity and ownership.
• Excellent relationship-building and communication skills.
• Ability to balance strategic thinking with operational execution.
• Strong analytical and financial mindset.
• Ability to simplify complex operational challenges.
• Passion for building scalable engineering organizations.

Success in This Role

Within the first 12 months, the Director of Engineering Operations is expected to:

• Establish a scalable engineering business operating model.
• Improve visibility into engineering budgets, investments, and operational metrics.
• Build standardized processes for engineering procurement, contracts, and operational governance.
• Strengthen strategic relationships with EDA, IP, foundry, and technology partners.
• Optimize engineering infrastructure planning to support company growth.
• Become the trusted operational partner to the VP of Engineering and a respected leader across the organization.

Why Join ScaleFlux

This is a unique opportunity to build and shape the operational foundation of a fast-growing semiconductor company. Reporting directly to the VP of Engineering, you will play a critical leadership role in enabling engineering innovation, driving operational excellence, and supporting the successful delivery of next generation semiconductor products.