R&D Director - Wood, Stone & Composite Software (f/m/d)

Job title: R&D Director - Wood, Stone & Composite Software (f/m/d)
Req ID: 3031
Location: UK, EU, or US East Coast
Short description:
At Hexagon, we're transforming the future of digital manufacturing through innovative software solutions that empower customers worldwide. As R&D Director – Wood, Stone & Composite Software (WSC), you will lead the global engineering organisation responsible for the development, modernisation, and delivery of our software portfolio serving the woodworking, stone fabrication, and composite manufacturing industries.
In this strategic leadership role, you will drive engineering excellence, product modernisation, and organisational growth across the WSC software portfolio. Working closely with Product Management, Architecture, and Operations, you will lead high-performing global engineering teams while ensuring predictable delivery, exceptional product quality, and customer success.
As a member of the Production Software R&D Leadership Team, you will help shape divisional strategy, lead through change, navigate ambiguity, and contribute to the ongoing transformation of our Production Software division.
This is a remote leadership role managing globally distributed teams and can be based in the UK, EU, or the US East Coast.
Your Responsibilities
Strategic & Organisational Leadership
Define and execute the engineering strategy for the WSC portfolio in alignment with Production Software objectives.
Lead, develop, and inspire a global engineering organisation comprising managers, technical leaders, and software engineers.
Build organisational capability through talent development, succession planning, and leadership coaching.
Establish a culture focused on ownership, customer value, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Lead teams effectively through organisational, technical, and business transformation.
Engineering Execution & Product Delivery
Own the execution and delivery of product roadmaps, strategic initiatives, and customer commitments.
Drive predictable delivery, operational excellence, and engineering productivity.
Establish clear performance indicators focused on delivery, quality, customer satisfaction, and organisational health.
Manage risks, dependencies, resource allocation, and execution priorities across the portfolio.
Engineering Excellence & Modern Development Practices
Champion a strong engineering culture built upon:
Test-Driven Development (TDD)
Automated testing
Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD)
API-First design principles
Modern software engineering practices
Promote data-driven decision-making using engineering and quality metrics.
Drive the continuous reduction of technical debt while preserving delivery commitments.
Architecture, Reuse & Platform Alignment
Ensure all significant architectural decisions are developed in close collaboration with the Production Software Architecture organisation.
Coordinate architecture evolution with the Director of Architecture and relevant Component Teams.
Drive the adoption of shared components, reusable services, and common technical frameworks.
Promote an Inner Source model across engineering teams to encourage collaboration, transparency, and shared ownership.
Continuously identify opportunities for code mutualisation and the reduction of duplicated investments across the portfolio.
Cross-Functional Collaboration & Engineering Transformation
Partner closely with Product Management, Architecture, Quality Engineering, Cloud Operations, Customer Support, and Professional Services.
Ensure effective coordination with Operations teams to support deployment, operational readiness, and customer success.
Support strategic customer engagements and critical escalations requiring senior engineering leadership.
Actively contribute to the evolution of the Production Software Software Factory, including: Jira and Azure DevOps adoption, Engineering governance, Delivery governance, Development processes, Quality practices, Engineering metrics, DevOps maturity.
Drive the adoption of enterprise engineering standards and best practices within the WSC organisation.
What you’ll bring
Experience
10+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years leading managers and multiple engineering teams.
Proven experience leading global software development organisations and managing distributed teams across multiple geographies.
Demonstrated success in driving large-scale modernisation and transformation initiatives.
Leadership Competencies
Strategic thinking with a strong focus on execution.
Experience leading organisational change and transformation.
Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.
Ability to operate effectively in ambiguous and evolving environments.
Proven track record of developing leaders and building high-performing teams.
Technical Competencies
Strong understanding of modern software engineering and product development practices.
Experience with scalable software architectures, APIs, DevOps, and software quality engineering.
Strong advocate of Test-Driven Development (TDD), CI/CD, API-First design, Inner Source, and platform-based development.
Knowledge of CAD/CAM, manufacturing software, industrial automation, or engineering software is highly desirable.
What Success Looks Like
In this role, you will:
Deliver predictable execution against strategic objectives.
Build a high-performing, engaged, and accountable engineering organisation.
Accelerate product modernisation while maintaining customer commitments.
Increase the reuse of shared components and the adoption of Inner Source practices.
Improve engineering quality, productivity, and customer satisfaction.
Successfully lead teams through change while creating clarity in uncertain environments.
Become a recognised leader driving engineering excellence across the Production Software division.
If you're an experienced engineering leader who thrives on building high-performing teams, driving modernisation, and shaping the future of industrial software, we'd love to hear from you.

Work arrangement
No