Deputy CTO, CTO Special Missions & CVC Technology

Yokogawa • Sugar Land, TX

22h • Hybrid

About The Position

The Deputy CTO leads CTO Special Missions and CVC Technology activities, reporting directly to the CTO and acting as a senior extension of the CTO in advancing Yokogawa’s strategic technology agenda. Working across Product, R&D, business, and technology organizations, the Deputy CTO provides independent technology assessments and recommendations, facilitates technology governance, cross-organizational alignment, and drives selected strategic initiatives to support CTO-level decisions on technology priorities, architecture direction, investment choices, and R&D resource optimization. The role also serves as the technology leader and focal point for Yokogawa’s Corporate Venture Capital activities, connecting external innovation and venture investments with Yokogawa’s long-term technology strategy and portfolio priorities. Responsibilities include technology scouting, technical due diligence, startup and technology assessment, strategic portfolio-fit evaluation, technology investment prioritization, and post-investment collaboration with Yokogawa Product, R&D, and business organizations. Investment governance, financial due diligence, valuation, deal execution, fund operations, portfolio management, and exit execution remain under the responsibility of Corporate Strategy / Corporate Development. This role contributes to support those activities also from technical perspective.

Requirements

• 15+ years in industrial automation, process automation, industrial software, digital platforms, or related technology sectors.
• Strong knowledge of Yokogawa’s industrial automation products, systems, project execution models, global business functions, and customer-facing operations.
• Experience in technology architecture, product development, R&D management, and technology roadmap development.
• Experience engaging directly with customers, partners, startups, investors, and ecosystem stakeholders from market scanning and prospect selection through collaboration, investment, or commercial partnership.
• Ability to structure technology issues for executive decisions and assess technology priorities and resource allocation.
• Ability to lead technical due diligence, technology scouting, proof-of-concept design, and technology partnership evaluation.
• Fluent English communication and the ability to influence stakeholders without formal authority.
• Basic understanding of venture investment processes, due diligence, contracts, and governance.

Nice To Haves

• Progressive leadership experience in this area and also knowledge of competitors and customers in this market.
• Executive-level understanding of industrial automation and digital technology domains as DCS, PLC/SCADA, SIS, MES, APM, APC, OT cybersecurity, edge/cloud architectures, digital twins, AI/ML, autonomous control, robotics and lifecycle services.
• Experience optimizing technology portfolios across multiple businesses, regions, or product platforms.
• Ability to attract high-potential startups into a corporate innovation ecosystem and create a compelling value proposition for founders and investors.
• Proven leadership experience with the ability to build teams, influence senior stakeholders, and operate effectively in complex, cross-functional, and multicultural environments.
• Experience working with venture capital firms, startups, universities, or research institutions.
• Network within the United States startup and technology ecosystem.
• Experience supporting M&A technology assessment, PMI technology integration, or strategic investment evaluation.

Responsibilities

• Shape & support alignment of Yokogawa’s long-term technology priorities, technology roadmaps, architecture direction, and strategic R&D themes.
• Provide independent assessments and recommendations to the CTO on competitive technology trends, emerging technologies, technology disruption risks, and strategic opportunities.
• Assess and help align Yokogawa's product and technology portfolio across businesses and R&D organizations, identifying portfolio gaps, overlaps, duplication, synergies, technology dependencies and future investment priorities.
• Facilitate cross-organizational discussions to improve portfolio coherence and support long-term technology strategy.
• Evaluate development investments, R&D themes, technical capabilities and resource deployment across businesses, platforms and R&D organizations.
• Provide recommendations to the CTO on prioritization, capability gaps, investment trade-offs, and opportunities to optimize R&D effectiveness.
• Identify opportunities to improve development effectiveness through technology reuse, platforms, cross-organizational collaboration and prioritization of development themes.
• Evaluate strategic technology partnerships, external technology adoption opportunities, ecosystem collaborations, and potential acquisition targets.
• Provide recommendations on build, partner, invest or acquire options based on strategic fit, technology differentiation, integration feasibility, scalability and technology-related risks.
• Represent the CTO organization and Yokogawa technology leadership with key internal and external stakeholders, customers, EPCs, partners, and industry/user groups.
• Engage credibly with highly technical customers across energy and process industries to translate customer challenges, market requirements, and emerging industry needs into differentiated technology priorities, solutions, and commercial opportunities.
• Lead technology scouting for startups, emerging technologies, and innovation trends relevant to Yokogawa’s long-term technology strategy with Yokogawa’s broader global innovation agenda.
• Partner with Corporate Strategy to translate Yokogawa's technology strategy and roadmaps into actionable CVC investment focus areas, technology hypotheses, strategic focus areas and scouting principles.
• Evaluate technology differentiation, technology readiness level, intellectual property position, architecture, scalability, implementation risks, technical team capabilities, and strategic relevance to Yokogawa.
• Assess how startup and external technologies complement, enhance, or potentially disrupt Yokogawa's existing and future products, solutions, platform and technology portfolio.
• Evaluate strategic technology value and potential commercial applicability, and alignment with long-term technology roadmaps.
• Lead the proof-of-concept design, technical validation, joint development opportunities, connections with business units and R&D organizations, technology integration planning, customer pilots, and pathways towards commercialization and scale.
• Provide technology-related input for strategic investments, partnerships, and potential acquisitions, providing assessments of technical risk, strategic and architectural fit, technology synergies, integration implications, scalability, and potential contribution to Yokogawa’s long-term technology portfolio.

Benefits

• Great career opportunities to grow yourself in a truly global culture where respect, value creation, collaboration, integrity, and gratitude are highly valued and exhibited in everything we do.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed