Director, Strategic Engineering Programs

APTIV INDIA; Walnut Creek (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Wind River is seeking a Director, Strategic Engineering Programs to shape the agenda and align Product and Engineering. You will be a trusted advisor to the CVP of Engineering & Product, translating strategy into execution and guiding executive decision-making.

This highly visible leadership role drives cross-functional initiatives across Product, Engineering, and Go-to-Market, ensuring investment priorities, customer needs, and execution stay aligned while accelerating progress on top

Qualifications

• 10+ years of leadership experience in strategy, product strategy, business operations, consulting, chief of staff, program leadership, or related fields.
• Proven experience partnering closely with executive leaders in product and technology organizations.
• Demonstrated success leading enterprise-wide strategic and transformational initiatives.
• Strong understanding of Product Management, product development lifecycles, and engineering operating models.
• Exceptional communication, executive influence, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to drive alignment and outcomes across functions without direct authority.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the CVP of Engineering & Product to drive strategic priorities, organizational alignment, and executive decision-making.
• Serve as a strategic advisor across both Product Management and Engineering, helping connect product strategy, roadmap priorities, technology investments, and business objectives.
• Lead a portfolio of high-impact, cross-functional initiatives spanning Product, Engineering, Go-to-Market, Customer Success, and other partner organizations.
• Drive planning and alignment around product portfolio priorities, roadmap execution, resource tradeoffs, and investment decisions.
• Facilitate executive reviews, strategic planning, roadmap discussions, and leadership operating rhythms.
• Shape executive communications, Board materials, and strategic narratives that communicate progress, priorities, and business impact.
• Anticipate risks, resolve cross-functional issues, and accelerate progress on the organization's highest-priority initiatives.

Skills

Leadership experience

Executive partnership

Strategic initiatives

Product management understanding

Communication & stakeholder mgmt

Cross-functional alignment

Job description

Hybrid On-Site: Walnut Creek, CA; San Diego, CA; Austin, TX; Troy, MI; Boston, MA; Kanata, Ontario, Canada

Citizenship: USA National or Canada Citizen, without citizenship of another country

ABOUT WIND RIVER

Wind River is a global leader in delivering software for mission-critical intelligent systems. For more than four decades, the company has been an innovator and pioneer, powering billions of systems that require the highest levels of security, safety, and reliability.

Wind River helps customers across automotive, aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, and telecommunications industries solve complex technology challenges on their journey toward the new intelligent machine economy. The company's software powers generation after generation of the safest, most secure systems in the world. Examples include playing a key role in NASA space missions such as Artemis I, the James Webb Space Telescope, and multiple Mars rovers. We've achieved recent 5G milestones including the world's first successful 5G data session with Verizon and building one of the largest Open RAN networks in the world with Vodafone.

The company has received industry recognition for its technology innovation and leadership, and for its workplace culture, including global Great Place to Work certification and being named a \"Top Workplace\" for ten consecutive years. If you want to be part of a unique culture where the lived experience is based on our cultural attributes of growth mindset, customer-focus, and diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging, come join us and help advance the future software defined world.

Role Summary

Director , Strategic Engineering Programs

Shape the agenda. Align Product and Engineering. Turn strategy into results. As a trusted advisor to the CVP of Engineering & Product, you will operate at the center of the organization's most critical priorities, helping shape strategy, drive executive decision-making, and accelerate execution across both Product Management and Engineering. This highly visible leadership role is responsible for ensuring product vision, investment priorities, customer needs, and engineering execution remain aligned. You will partner closely with Product and Engineering leaders to advance strategic initiatives, improve organizational effectiveness, and drive measurable business outcomes.

Your Role

• - Partner with the CVP of Engineering & Product to drive strategic priorities, organizational alignment, and executive decision-making.
• - Serve as a strategic advisor across both Product Management and Engineering, helping connect product strategy, roadmap priorities, technology investments, and business objectives.
• - Lead a portfolio of high-impact, cross-functional initiatives spanning Product, Engineering, Go-to-Market, Customer Success, and other partner organizations.
• - Drive planning and alignment around product portfolio priorities, roadmap execution, resource tradeoffs, and investment decisions.
• - Facilitate executive reviews, strategic planning, roadmap discussions, and leadership operating rhythms.
• - Shape executive communications, Board materials, and strategic narratives that communicate progress, priorities, and business impact.
• - Anticipate risks, resolve cross-functional issues, and accelerate progress on the organization's highest-priority initiatives.

Your Background

• - 10+ years of leadership experience in strategy, product strategy, business operations, consulting, chief of staff, program leadership, or related fields.
• - Proven experience partnering closely with executive leaders in product and technology organizations.
• - Demonstrated success leading enterprise-wide strategic and transformational initiatives.
• - Strong understanding of Product Management, product development lifecycles, and engineering operating models.
• - Exceptional communication, executive influence, and stakeholder management skills.
• - Ability to drive alignment and outcomes across functions without direct authority.

Success in This Role

• - Strong alignment between product strategy, roadmap execution, and business outcomes.
• - Successful delivery of strategic initiatives across Product Management and Engineering.
• - Faster, higher-quality executive decisions grounded in clear priorities and tradeoffs.
• - Increased organizational focus, leadership effectiveness, and cross-functional collaboration.
• - Measurable progress against the company's most important business, customer, and technology objectives.

Core Accountability

This role serves as a strategic accelerator for the CVP of Engineering & Product, driving alignment, decision clarity, and execution across the organization's highest-priority initiatives. Success is measured by strategic impact, organizational effectiveness, and business outcomes.

Additionally, will consider San Diego, CA, Walnut Creek, CA, Boston, MA, Troy, MI, Kanata, ON or Austin, TX area (brick and mortar location will be leased soon)

Why join Aptiv/Wind River ?

• - You grow at Aptiv/