Senior Director – Controls & Software Feature Delivery

Cummins Inc.; Columbus (IN); On-site; USD 165,000 - 275,000; Full time

Job summary

Cummins Inc. is seeking a Senior Director of Controls & Software Feature Delivery in Columbus, Indiana.

You will lead global teams delivering high-quality controls and software features across Engine, Components, Power Generation, and other units, aligning delivery with strategic business priorities and customer needs. This role requires visionary leadership, expertise in software and controls engineering, and a track record of building high-performing teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related STEM field; advanced degree preferred.
• Proven success leading global software, controls, calibration, or engineering organizations across multiple units.
• Deep expertise in product development, systems engineering, software delivery, and validation.
• Experience building high-performing technical teams and advancing organizational capability.
• Experience driving engineering transformation with modern practices and process maturity.

Responsibilities

• Lead delivery of controls and software features across a broad product portfolio meeting quality, cost, and schedule objectives.
• Provide strategic leadership aligning development with business priorities and roadmaps across regions.
• Develop world-class technical organizations through coaching and succession planning.
• Drive operational excellence by improving processes, quality, and delivery predictability.
• Balance resource deployment, investments, and priorities to maximize business value.

Skills

Strategic Leadership

Systems Engineering

People Leadership

Global Program Mgmt

Business Acumen

Stakeholder Management

Conflict & Decision Making

Change Leadership

Education

Bachelor's in Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Job description

The Senior Director, Controls & Software Feature Delivery is a strategic engineering leader within Central Components, responsible for advancing the organization's software engineering transformation by strengthening global delivery capabilities, increasing engineering process maturity, and accelerating the evolution toward software-defined products and connected technologies. This role leads the delivery of high-quality controls and software features across a diverse portfolio supporting the Engine, Components, Power Generation, Accelera, Emission Solutions, Drivetrain, and Braking businesses.

Leading global teams, this individual drives the execution of complex software programs and ensures alignment between technical delivery, business priorities, and customer expectations. The Director is accountable for developing technical talent, advancing software quality, and implementing scalable engineering processes that enable consistent, high-quality feature delivery across multiple sites and regions.

As a key member of the software engineering leadership team, the Director influences organizational strategy, resource allocation, and product delivery outcomes with significant business impact. This leader serves as a catalyst for engineering excellence by fostering collaboration across business units and global teams, strengthening technical leadership pipelines, building high-performing teams, and driving continuous improvement initiatives that enhance quality, productivity, innovation, and customer value. This role is onsite with flexibility and based in Columbus, Indiana.

In this role, you will make an impact in the following ways:

• Lead the successful delivery of controls and software features across a broad portfolio of products and applications, ensuring critical programs supporting the Engine, Components, Power Generation, Accelera, Emission Solutions, Drivetrain, and Braking businesses achieve quality, timing, cost, and performance objectives while meeting evolving customer and regulatory requirements.

• Provide strategic leadership for complex global engineering challenges, aligning controls and software feature development with business priorities, product roadmaps, and technical strategies to enable successful product launches and sustained competitive advantage across multiple business units.

• Build and develop world-class technical organizations by coaching leaders, strengthening succession pipelines, and fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, and continuous learning that empowers teams to deliver exceptional results.

• Drive operational excellence through process and system improvements, identifying opportunities to enhance software feature and calibration quality, delivery predictability, resource utilization, and organizational effectiveness across multiple technical sites and global engineering teams.

• Make enterprise-level decisions on resource deployment, staffing, investment priorities, and project execution, balancing competing demands while ensuring teams remain focused on delivering the highest-value outcomes for the business and customers.

• Champion collaboration and alignment across global stakeholders, bringing together software, controls, calibration, quality, and business leaders to resolve complex challenges, remove barriers, and accelerate feature delivery across diverse product platforms.

• Influence the future direction of software engineering capabilities across the organization, establishing performance standards, shaping technical strategies, and driving the adoption of best practices in areas such as systems engineering, functional safety, cybersecurity, and software quality.

• Navigate and resolve critical delivery and launch issues, effectively balancing cost, quality, risk, and timing considerations while fostering constructive debate and decisive action to ensure successful business outcomes.

• Lead the evolution of software, controls, and calibration capabilities by strengthening global delivery models, increasing engineering process maturity, advancing software quality, and enabling scalable execution across North America, India, and China.

• Drive the successful delivery of business-critical controls and software features by establishing disciplined execution, managing risk, ensuring regulatory and quality compliance, and supporting the organization's long-term transition toward software-defined, connected, Cyber-secure and digitally enabled products.

To be successful in this role you will need the following:

• Strategic Leadership and Organizational Influence - Ability to shape technical and business direction across multiple organizations, influencing senior leaders, stakeholders, and engineering teams to align priorities, optimize investments, and achieve strategic business objectives. Demonstrated success making complex decisions that balance cost, quality, delivery, talent, and long-term organizational capability.

• Advanced Software and Systems Engineering Expertise - Deep knowledge of software development, controls engineering, diagnostics development, systems engineering, product validation, and feature delivery within complex product environments. Ability to evaluate technical tradeoffs, guide engineering teams through ambiguity, and ensure solutions meet performance, quality, safety, cybersecurity, and regulatory requirements.

• Exceptional People Leadership and Talent Development - Proven ability to build, develop, and lead high-performing teams through coaching, mentoring, succession planning, and capability development. Experience creating an inclusive and engaging environment that encourages innovation, accountability, technical excellence, and continuous learning while developing future technical and engineering leaders.

• Global Program and Resource Management Excellence - Demonstrated success leading large-scale, cross-functional programs across multiple business units, technical sites, and geographic regions. Ability to effectively prioritize initiatives, allocate resources, manage competing demands, and drive execution through changing business conditions while maintaining focus on delivery commitments.

• Business Acumen and Operational Excellence - Strong understanding of how engineering decisions impact broader business outcomes, including revenue, cost, quality, customer satisfaction, and organizational effectiveness. Experience driving process improvements, implementing operating model enhancements, and establishing performance standards that improve execution and delivery predictability.

• Stakeholder Management and Executive Communication - Ability to communicate complex technical and business topics with clarity and influence across all levels of the organization. Skilled at building trusted partnerships with executive leaders, global engineering teams, quality organizations, outsourced partners, and cross‑functional stakeholders to drive alignment and achieve shared objectives.

• Constructive Conflict and Decision‑Making Leadership - Proven ability to facilitate healthy debate, challenge assumptions, and navigate competing viewpoints to arrive at the best business and technical outcomes. Experience creating an environment where diverse perspectives are encouraged, difficult conversations are handled effectively, and decisions are made with speed, transparency, and accountability.

• Problem Solving and Change Leadership - Demonstrated capability to lead through complexity and ambiguity, resolving critical delivery, quality, and organizational challenges. Ability to drive change management initiatives, implement new processes and ways of working, and successfully lead teams through transformational programs while maintaining engagement and performance.

Education/Experience

• College, university, or equivalent Bachelor's degree in Engineering or appropriate STEM field is required. Post‑graduate (Master's) degree relevant to this discipline area is desired.

• Proven success leading global software, controls, calibration, or engineering organizations through complex product development programs, regulatory certification efforts, and product launches across multiple business units, regions, and technical sites.

• Deep expertise in product development, systems engineering, software delivery, validation, and technical program leadership, including resource planning, prioritization, organizational design, and execution of large-scale cross‑functional initiatives.

• Demonstrated track record building high-performing technical teams and leaders while advancing organizational capability, software quality, engineering excellence, and delivery performance across varying business cycles and product life stages.

• Demonstrated ability to drive engineering transformation through modern development practices, process maturity frameworks, and continuous improvement initiatives, while fostering constructive conflict, influencing senior stakeholders, and aligning diverse teams around strategic business objectives.

Compensation

Please note that the salary range provided is a good faith estimate on the applicable range. The final salary offer will be determined after considering relevant factors, including a candidate’s qualifications and experience, where appropriate.

Job Engineering

Organization Cummins Inc.

Role Category On-site with Flexibility

Job Type Exempt - Experienced

Min Salary $165000

Max Salary $275000

ReqID 2436454

Relocation Package Yes

100% On-site No

Cummins and E-Verify

At Cummins, we are an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer dedicated to diversity in the workplace. Our policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified persons without regard to race, gender, color, disability, national origin, age, religion, union affiliation, sexual orientation, veteran status, citizenship, gender identity and/or expression, or other status protected by law. Cummins validates the right to work using E-Verify and will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. Visit http://EEOC.gov to know your rights on workplace discrimination.