Director of Engineering, General Purpose and Core Virtualization

Google Compute Engine (GCE) empowers its users with a comprehensive suite of VM and Baremetal instances for General-Purpose, Compute-Optimized, Memory-Optimized, Storage-Optimized and GPU/TPU-Accelerated Workloads. GCE is used by businesses of all sizes, from startups to Large Enterprises running AI/ML, Cloud Native and Mission Critical workloads. We work closely with hardware partners and Google’s engineering teams to harness the latest advancements in CPU (x86/ARM), Storage, Network, GPU/TPU virtualization, all backed by cutting-edge security, reliability and performance.

As the Director, Engineering, General Purpose and Core Virtualization, you will serve as the single-threaded executive leader responsible for Google Cloud's foundational General-Purpose compute portfolio (spanning virtual machine instance families on both x86 and ARM architectures) and the underlying virtualization capabilities. Your primary mission is to drive the strategic roadmap of the General Purpose portfolio which involves development of the latest generation instances, driving customer adoption while delivering security, reliability, disruption-free updates, performance for mission critical enterprise and AI/ML workloads.

Additionally, as AI and agentic workloads redefine compute, you will lead the disruptive charge to deliver high-performance, secure, and high-density microVM sandboxes.

In this highly cross-functional role, you will collaborate deeply with infrastructure partners to align on roadmaps, manage resource allocation, and ensure fleet compliance. You will directly engage with major foundation model companies and enterprise partners to translate their aggressive compute demands into next-generation platform features. This is a premier leadership opportunity to shape the core infrastructure driving Google and the industry’s AI revolution.

Google Cloud accelerates every organization’s ability to digitally transform its business and industry. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google’s cutting-edge technology, and tools that help developers build more sustainably. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.

Individual pay is determined by factors including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.

US: $307000 - $428000 (USD) + 30% bonus target + equity + benefits

Learn more about benefits at Google.

Responsibilities

• Drive the strategic direction, engineering execution, and commercialization of the General-Purpose compute portfolio across both x86 and ARM architectures.
• Lead the design and delivery of foundational virtualization capabilities, including hostile multi-tenancy isolation, resource overcommit, disruption free updates, and consistent performance.
• Champion next-generation hypervisor and microVM development to build secure, high-density substrates for agentic AI workloads and sandboxed environments.
• Collaborate with cross-functional leadership across cluster management, container platforms, hardware platform engineering, and security to align on roadmaps, resource planning, and shared infrastructure goals.
• Manage senior technical talent, engineering managers, while resolving critical customer escalations and ensuring operational excellence across the global compute fleet.

Minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 15 years of professional experience in software engineering, including team leadership and people management.
• Experience with cloud infrastructure systems, virtualization substrates, or low-level systems engineering.

Preferred qualifications:

• Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Experience managing and scaling engineering teams responsible for core cloud infrastructure products.
• Deep technical knowledge of hypervisors (Hyper-V, KVM, Xen, Cloud Hypervisor), virtual machine managers (VMMs), or Linux kernel internals.
• Demonstrated experience driving large-scale, multi-year cross-functional programs under tight deadlines.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, manage escalations, and translate complex technical trade-offs for executive leadership and partners.

Note: By applying to this position you will have an opportunity to share your preferred working location from the following: Seattle, WA, USA; Kirkland, WA, USA; Sunnyvale, CA, USA.

In accordance with Washington state law, we are highlighting our comprehensive benefits package, which is available to all eligible US based employees. Benefits for this role include:

• Health, dental, vision, life, disability insurance
• Retirement Benefits: 401(k) with company match
• Paid Time Off: 20 days of vacation per year, accruing at a rate of 6.15 hours per pay period for the first five years of employment
• Sick Time: 40 hours/year (increased to 69 hours/year for Seattle) including 5 discretionary sick days per instance
• Maternity Leave (Short-Term Disability + Baby Bonding): 28-30 weeks
• Baby Bonding Leave: 18 weeks
• Holidays: 13 paid days per year