Director, Strategic Engineering Programs

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/Wind River. Aptiv's winning culture is global by design. We bring together diverse perspectives, cultures, and business contexts to solve our customers' toughest challenges. In this environment, every individual can grow, lead, and make an impact, regardless of background, because inclusion fuels how we innovate and win.
• You make an impact at Aptiv/Wind River. One of the strengths of humanity is our drive to progress, to improve, to achieve more tomorrow than we did yesterday. People need solutions they can trust when it matters most. At Aptiv, you are building those solutions every day.
• You have support at Aptiv/Wind River. We ensure you have the resources and support you need to take care of your family, your physical health, and your mental health with a competitive benefits package.

SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIREMENTS

USA National or Canada Citizen without citizenship of another country. Successful candidates must engage in a security clearance process in regard to their citizenship in order to perform fundamental job duties, as per applicable law. In particular, candidates with certain citizenship may not be able to perform such fundamental job duties. Currently, this includes citizens of the following countries: Belarus; Burma; China; Cuba; Iran; North Korea; Syria; Venezuela; Afghanistan; Cambodia; Central African Republic; Cyprus; Democratic Republic of Congo; Ethiopia; Eritrea; Haiti; Iraq; Lebanon; Libya; Russia; Somalia; South Sudan; Sudan; Zimbabwe. The security clearance process may take a significant amount of time to complete, and any offer of employment will be contingent on the candidate's legal ability to perform the fundamental job duties. Wind River is committed to meeting its obligations to candidates under applicable human rights law and privacy law in this regard.

COMPENSATION

The annual base salary range for this role’s listed grade level is currently $190,000 to $220,000 plus bonus for residents in the states of Colorado, New York and New Jersey; and $200,000 to $230,000 plus bonus for residents in the states of California and Washington, and the NYC area. Salary ranges are determined through interviews and a review of education, experience, knowledge, skills, location and abilities of the applicant, and equity with other team members. Employees in this role are also eligible for the following benefits in accordance with the terms of the Company's plans: health, dental, vision insurance, life insurance, flex time off, eligibility to enroll in 401k, 12 paid holidays.

Meet the Next Generation Aptiv/Wind River

At Aptiv/Wind River, we deliver innovative solutions that people trust when it matters most.

Progress is never static. It is about reaching further, exploring new possibilities, and enabling mobility. Aptiv empowers customers to create solutions people rely on—advancing safety and autonomy in Automotive and Commercial Vehicles, enabling mission-critical performance in Aerospace & Defense, and powering intelligent systems across Energy, Enterprise, and Telecommunications. We also drive precision and efficiency in Industrials & Robotics and support life-critical innovation in Medical technologies.

Guided by our winning culture and values to Think & Act Like Owners, as One Team, and Play to Win, we turn commitment into results and achieve more together.

Join Us to Deliver Innovative Solutions That People Trust!

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Aptiv is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.