VP, Software Engineering

DataDirect Networks (DDN.com) is a leading global provider of data storage and data management solutions at scale. We accelerate AI and High Performance Computing workflows and applications in data centers, private and public clouds, and at the edge. Thanks to our technology, over 11,000 customers realize significant efficiencies in their GPU and CPU compute farms, substantially reducing their data center power consumption and footprint. Utilizing highly optimized flash technology and AI-enabled software, our products power some of the largest and most demanding customers in the world in fields such as autonomous driving, AI chatbots, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, energy, government, public sector, and research institutions, as well as generative AI and data analytics applications.

We are recriuiting for a Vice President, Software Engineering for leading and setting the direction of the DDN Infinia next generation storage software solutions reporting directly to the EVP, Global Engineering Operations.  As a VP of Engineering, you should be comfortable with growing a geo-dispersed team and managing groups of between 50-150 people. You should have demonstrated ability to extend teams into new geographies and with low cost geography partners. This is a hands-on position, so in-depth knowledge of storage is required. The incumbent of this position is a deeply technical planner, motivator, and mentor: a position of senior leadership.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the team responsible for all new technology evaluations, ensuring comprehensive industry evaluation and testing occurs and results are distributed to the appropriate teams
• Lead a multi-site team ensuring employee performance, workload management, and on-time delivery of projects and products and execution of DDN Infinia roadmaps
• Collaborate with other executives, product management and marketing on release requirements and roadmaps for DDN Infinia storage products
• Have a very aggressive roadmap of product feature evolution and find creative cost-effective ways to implement it.  Avail yourself of industry available/open-source software for inclusion in the product where appropriate.
• Set internal sustainability goals and manage team to meet these goals
• Plan project budgets and manage to approved budgets
• Recruit, mentor, motivate and retain engineering personnel
• Mentor front line managers to help them grow their knowledge and experience
• Interface with customers on new features and issues

 Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (computer science, computer engineering. electrical engineering or related discipline) or comparable experience is required; master’s degree in a relevant field or MBA is a plus or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of management of software development teams, with mid-size to large companies and 7+ years of SW development and Architectural experience.
• The ideal candidate will drive company growth through evidence of product innovation and on time delivery.
• Demonstrated leadership in taking 1.0 innovative products to market on time and meeting enterprise quality requirements.
• Demonstrated ability to scope products with significant unknowns and accurately forecast completion dates and drive the team to the deliverables.
• Experience with all phases of the development and product life cycle.
• Comfortable in handling all aspects of budget management up to $15M.
• Significant experience with cross-site development including low cost geographies.
• Focused, flexible and creative thinker with proven leadership skills.

Technical Qualifications:

• Previous experience with Filesystems - parallel, NAS, enterprise directories, e.g., CEPH, Lustre, GPFS, SMB, NFS, PNFS, S3.
• Previous experience with Directory Services and Authentication Protocols e.g., Active Directory, LDAP, NIS.
• Desirable to have experience with frameworks such as VMWare, OpenStack, Docker, Kubernetes and KVM and associated microservices.
• Desirable to have experience with networking (Ethernet, ROCE, InfiniBand).

DDN has a very strong orientation towards these 4 characteristics and any successful employee will demonstrate these capabilities: 

Self-Starter - Takes independent action to identify and solve problems. Seeks out relevant information needed to make decisions. Gets involved with new initiatives. 

Success/Achievement Orientation - Delivers quality results consistently. Targets, achieves (or exceeds) measurable results. Sets challenging goals, focuses on critical priorities, and is accountable. 

Problem Solving - Recognizes problems and responds with a systematic assessment that identifies and addresses cause of issue. Practical, realistic, and resourceful. 

Innovative - Builds and improves key business processes that enhance the effectiveness of DDN. Generates new ideas, challenges the status quo, and solves problems creatively. 

DDN takes pride in developing and promoting talent as an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, gender, age, religion, disability, veteran status, or any other category protected by law. By fostering a diverse business environment, DDN welcomes opportunities to learn from each other, our customers, investors, suppliers, and business partners.