Engineering Director, Firmware, Software and Digital Systems, Residential Fire

Title: Engineering Director, Firmware, Software and Digital Systems, Residential Fire
Location: Hyderabad, India
Employment Type: Fulltime
Position Summary
Kidde Global Solutions is seeking an Engineering Director to lead its Firmware, Software, Digital, and Quality Engineering teams in Hyderabad, India. This leader will build and develop multidisciplinary teams responsible for embedded firmware, connected products, cloud services, mobile applications, and software quality for Kidde's consumer residential fire and life safety portfolio.
The Engineering Director will define technology roadmaps, establish scalable platforms and engineering practices, and partner with global Engineering, Product Management, and Program Management leaders to deliver innovative, safe, reliable, and connected products. The role is accountable for organizational capability development, technical excellence, resource planning, and engineering execution across global design centers, while fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities
Technology & Product Development

Define technology strategies, roadmaps, and platform architectures supporting Kidde's residential fire and life safety product portfolio.
Partner with Product Management, Program Management, Systems Engineering, and Architecture teams to translate business objectives into executable technical solutions.
Drive the development and delivery of connected products, cloud services, mobile applications, and digital solutions through global cross-functional collaboration.
Evaluate and apply emerging technologies, including AI and advanced analytics, to improve products, customer experiences, and engineering productivity

Engineering Excellence & Governance

Establish common platforms, reusable architectures, engineering processes, development tools, and verification practices across global design centers.
Drive technical excellence through architecture governance, design reviews, modern development practices, and engineering automation.
Ensure products meet performance, quality, reliability, safety, cybersecurity, and regulatory requirements.
Lead software quality and secure development initiatives, including validation, reliability engineering, and cybersecurity best practices. Quality, Cybersecurity & Compliance.

Site & Organizational Leadership

Serve as the Residential Fire Business Unit Site Leader for Hyderabad, providing leadership for local engineering operations, employee engagement, organizational growth, and talent development.
Lead and develop a high-performing multidisciplinary organization of 45+ engineers, managers, and technical professionals spanning firmware, software, cloud, mobile, digital technologies, and quality assurance.
Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, accountability, continuous improvement, quality, safety, and integrity.
Partner with global engineering leaders to establish Hyderabad as a strategic engineering center and center of excellence for digital engineering disciplines.

Business & Operational Leadership

Develop annual operating plans, resource strategies, budgets, and organizational growth plans aligned with business objectives.
Establish engineering metrics, operating reviews, and accountability mechanisms to drive execution, predictability, and continuous improvement.
Manage strategic partnerships with external development organizations, technology providers, and key suppliers.
Drive cross-functional alignment across Engineering, Product Management, Program Management, Operations, and Quality to deliver business objectives and product roadmaps.

Required Qualifications
Education

BE/B.Tech in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline.

Experience & Leadership

15+ years of progressive engineering experience, including senior leadership roles within embedded, connected, cloud-enabled, or industrial product development organizations.
Proven success leading large, multidisciplinary engineering organizations, including firmware, software, cloud, mobile, quality, and systems engineering teams.
Demonstrated experience managing globally distributed engineering organizations and collaborating effectively across cultures, regions, and time zones.
Strong people leadership capabilities, including organizational development, coaching, succession planning, talent management, and building high-performing teams.
Proven track record delivering complex products and technology platforms from concept through commercialization and lifecycle support.

Technical Expertise

Deep expertise in embedded firmware and software development for connected products, including IoT architectures, cloud-enabled systems, and end-to-end product delivery.
Strong knowledge of wireless and connected technologies, including Wi-Fi, BLE, Matter/Zigbee, cloud connectivity, serial communications, and device-to-device networking architectures.
Hands-on experience with embedded software technologies, including C/C++, RTOS, Embedded Linux, distributed systems, and scalable cloud-connected applications.
Strong understanding of software development lifecycle processes, engineering governance, quality systems, cybersecurity practices, and secure product development methodologies.
Experience establishing platform architectures, reusable frameworks, and engineering standards that enable scalable product development across multiple teams and geographies.

Preferred Qualifications

Advanced degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Technology Management, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
Experience in life safety, safety-critical, regulated, or high-reliability industries.
Experience leading cloud, mobile, digital platform, software quality, cybersecurity, or digital engineering organizations.
Experience implementing modern engineering practices, including CI/CD, automated testing, DevOps, AI/ML-enabled development tools, or advanced analytics within products and engineering processes.