Director of Configuration Management

At Cadence, we hire and develop leaders and innovators who want to make an impact on the world of technology.

Director of Configuration Management

Location: San Jose, CA

Reports to: Senior Group Director, Configuration Management & Infrastructure

Direct Reports: 10-12 CM Engineers

Position Summary

We are seeking an experienced Director of Configuration Management to lead our configuration management and infrastructure DevOps organization in San Jose. This senior technical leader will drive the strategy, design, and implementation of scalable build, deployment, and release management systems to support our expanding engineering team. The ideal candidate will manage a group of 10-12 technical professionals while remaining actively involved in architectural and technical decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Strategy

- Identify and automate solutions to enhance performance, scalability, and reliability of build and release processes

- Design, implement, and continuously improve CI/CD solutions and infrastructure

- Lead architectural design for configuration management, ensuring adherence to specifications and industry standards

- Leverage generative AI and machine learning to optimize efficiency, accelerate pipelines, and enable predictive monitoring

- Evaluate and deploy emerging DevOps technologies and best practices

- Establish metrics and KPIs to measure system performance, team productivity, and process effectiveness

Team Management & Development

- Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 10-12 configuration management and DevOps engineers

- Provide technical mentoring across the broader engineering organization

- Recruit, hire, and onboard top-tier technical talent

- Conduct performance reviews and career development planning

- Foster a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and technical excellence

- Facilitate knowledge sharing and cross-training initiatives

Process & Operations Management

- Oversee the entire software build, integration, and release pipeline

- Ensure high availability and reliability of build and deployment infrastructure

- Implement and maintain branching strategies, merge processes, and release workflows

- Collaborate with development teams to optimize their development and deployment experiences

- Establish and maintain security best practices in build/release pipelines

- Drive incident response and post-mortem processes for build/release issues

Cross-Functional Collaboration

- Partner with engineering teams to understand requirements and optimize workflows

- Collaborate with QA to integrate automated testing frameworks

- Work closely with Security to implement compliance and security scanning

- Interface with Product Management to align release schedules with business objectives

- Communicate effectively with executive leadership on project status, risks, and strategic initiatives

Global Leadership & Collaboration

- Collaborate with distributed CM teams across geographically diverse locations

- Design and implement CM solutions for 24/7 global development cycles

- Ensure CM systems scale effectively across regions

- Facilitate knowledge transfer and cross-training between global teams

Required Qualifications

Education & Experience

- Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field

- 15+ years of progressive experience in software design, development, and infrastructure management

- 5+ years in technical leadership or management roles

- Proven track record of scaling engineering teams and processes

Technical Expertise

- Comprehensive understanding of the software development lifecycle, with hands-on experience in Agile methodologies

- Expert-level knowledge of DevOps tools and processes, including CI/CD pipelines

- Experience with build automation and continuous integration tools (Jenkins, ElectricFlow, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps)

- Familiarity with build and dependency management systems, automated test framework integration, release orchestration

- Deep familiarity with source code management systems (Perforce, Git, SVN)

- Proficiency in web application development (REST APIs, database design, JavaScript, Node.js)

- Operational expertise in Unix/Linux environments

- Advanced skills in scripting languages (Perl, Python, Shell, PowerShell)

Leadership & Communication

- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with ability to present to executive audiences

- Proven ability to collaborate across multiple organizations and disciplines

- Experience in change management and process improvement initiatives

- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail

Preferred Qualifications

- Experience integrating AI-powered code analysis, security scanning, and test generation tools

- Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and container orchestration (Kubernetes, Docker)

- Familiarity with GitHub Copilot or similar AI coding assistants

- Knowledge of Infrastructure as Code (Terraform, Ansible, Chef, Puppet)

- Familiarity with security scanning and compliance tools

- Previous experience managing distributed teams

- Track record of successful large-scale system migrations

Success Metrics

- Reduction in build and deployment times

- Improved system reliability and uptime

- Increased developer productivity and satisfaction

- Successful team growth and retention

- Timely implementation of strategic technical initiatives

- Achievement of security and compliance objectives

The annual salary range for California is $178,500 to $331,500. You may also be eligible to receive incentive compensation: bonus, equity, and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the salary range is a guideline and compensation may vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies and work location. Our benefits programs include: paid vacation and paid holidays, 401(k) plan with employer match, employee stock purchase plan, a variety of medical, dental and vision plan options, and more.

We’re doing work that matters. Help us solve what others can’t.