Director, Software Engineering & Site Leader

Overview

This is a dual-mandate leadership role at one of Quest Software's most strategic engineering locations. You will have full engineering leadership responsibility for a product within Quest's data management portfolio while serving as Site Leader for our Hyderabad development center of approximately 150 employees. 

The priorities are clear: 

• Development Management: Deliver exceptional product outcomes through high-quality engineering execution.
• Site Leadership: Grow Hyderabad's capability, culture, and strategic importance within Quest.

A third, critical responsibility cuts across both mandates: leading the Hyderabad organization toward an AI-first software delivery model, transforming how engineering teams design, build, test, and deliver software. 

AI-First Software Delivery 

A core expectation of this role is to lead Hyderabad's transition to AI-first engineering. 

You will: 

• Define and implement an AI-first software delivery strategy. 

• Embed AI-assisted practices across development, testing, code review, documentation, and support. 

• Establish governance for quality, security, intellectual property, and responsible AI usage. 

• Measure outcomes through productivity, quality, delivery, and employee experience metrics. 

• Lead the organizational change required to drive adoption. 

• Share best practices across Quest and position Hyderabad as a center of excellence for AI-enabled engineering. 

Responsibilities

Priority 1: Development Management 

You will lead a Hyderabad-based engineering organization responsible for a product within Quest's data management portfolio. 

Delivery & Execution 

• Own end-to-end product delivery, including roadmap execution, release commitments, quality, security, performance, and supportability. 

• Translate product strategy into achievable engineering plans and ensure predictable execution. 

• Partner with architects and senior engineers on key technical and architectural decisions. 

• Balance innovation with operational excellence, including technical debt, supportability, and customer-reported issues. 

• Communicate delivery status, risks, and dependencies effectively to senior leadership. 

Customer & Business Partnership 

• Partner closely with Product Management and go-to-market teams on customer engagements, evaluations, and proofs of concept. 

• Bring customer insights into product planning and prioritization. 

• Support Sales, Professional Services, and Customer Support on strategic customer opportunities. 

Team Leadership 

• Lead through engineering managers and senior technical leaders. 

• Hire, develop, and retain high-performing teams. 

• Build leadership depth, succession plans, and future engineering leaders. 

• Foster a culture of accountability, growth, and continuous improvement. 

Data Management Expertise 

Experience in the data management domain is strongly preferred, including areas such as: 

• Data architecture and modeling 

• Data lineage, metadata management, and governance 

• Data quality, integration, and intelligence solutions 

• Enterprise data platforms, cloud data warehouses, lakehouses, relational and NoSQL technologies 

Priority 2: Hyderabad Site Leadership 

As Site Leader, you will be accountable for the growth, culture, and reputation of the Hyderabad engineering organization. 

Site Growth & Capability 

• Drive Hyderabad's growth strategy in partnership with HR, Talent Acquisition, Finance, Facilities, and IT. 

• Expand engineering capability and increase strategic product ownership within the site. 

• Develop career paths, technical communities, and learning opportunities that strengthen engagement and retention. 

Culture & Communication 

• Lead regular town halls and site-wide communications. 

• Promote a high-performance culture focused on customer value, engineering excellence, accountability, and collaboration. 

• Serve as the primary bridge between Hyderabad and Quest's global engineering and business teams. 

External Leadership 

• Represent Quest within the Hyderabad technology ecosystem. 

• Build relationships with universities and academic institutions to strengthen graduate hiring and talent pipelines. 

• Participate in industry forums, technology communities, and employer-branding initiatives. 

Qualifications

Essential 

• 5+ years of second-line engineering leadership experience managing organizations of 30-50+ engineers through managers. 

• Proven record of delivering enterprise software products to market. 

• Experience partnering with customer-facing and go-to-market teams. 

• Demonstrated success building high-performing engineering organizations. 

• Strong technical credibility and ability to influence architecture and engineering decisions. 

• Excellent communication skills with experience engaging executives, large employee audiences, and external stakeholders. 

• Experience operating in global organizations across multiple time zones. 

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience). 

Preferred 

• Experience in data management, governance, metadata, lineage, or related enterprise software markets. 

• Experience leading AI-assisted engineering transformation initiatives. 

• Site leadership experience in India. 

• SaaS and cloud platform experience. 

• Expertise in modern engineering practices, including cloud-native architectures, DevOps, CI/CD, quality engineering, and secure software development. 

• Experience scaling engineering organizations. 

• Strong network within the Hyderabad technology community. 

• Advanced degree in engineering, technology, or business. 

What success looks like

Within your first 12 months: 

• Deliver product commitments with high quality and clear customer value. 

• Build a strong leadership team with healthy engagement, retention, and succession plans. 

• Establish measurable adoption of AI-assisted software delivery. 

• Successfully scale the Hyderabad site while strengthening culture and communication. 

• Increase Quest's visibility and reputation within the Hyderabad technology ecosystem. 

Leadership attributes

We are looking for a leader who: 

• Maintains a strong bias for delivery and results. 

• Builds leaders and develops talent. 

• Can effectively balance multiple strategic responsibilities. 

• Communicates with clarity, candor, and consistency. 

• Remains focused on customer outcomes. 

• Embraces change and innovation, particularly AI-driven transformation. 

Why Quest Software 

Quest Software helps organizations manage, secure, and maximize the value of their data and IT environments. This role offers a unique opportunity to own product delivery, lead a 150-person engineering organization, and shape how software is built through AI-first practices at one of Quest's most strategic engineering locations.