EVP R&D

Matrix Global

18h

About The Position

Matrix Global Services is partnering with a long‑standing global software vendor to build and lead a high‑performance R&D organization. We are seeking an experienced R&D Manager / VP/ EVP R&D to oversee engineering execution across distributed global teams This role manages a mature and complex product ecosystem with a decades‑old codebase, while simultaneously driving a major modernization program focused on cloud‑native, Kubernetes‑based, and AI‑enabled architecture. You will balance innovation with operational excellence, ensuring stable delivery of existing products and successful execution of new initiatives. You will work cross‑functionally with Product Management, Sales, Support, and Professional Services to align engineering output with business priorities and customer commitments.

Requirements

10+ years of engineering leadership experience, with 5+ years leading teams of 50+ people.
Proven experience managing distributed/offshore teams, ideally including India.
Experience leading modernization of legacy platforms (not only greenfield/startup environments).
Strong understanding of cloud infrastructure, DevOps, CI/CD, and Kubernetes.
Demonstrated success in hiring, performance management, retention, and culture building.
Background in software product companies (not only IT services or internal IT).
Ability to collaborate effectively with business stakeholders to align engineering decisions.
Comfortable navigating ambiguity and multi‑year transformation programs.

Nice To Haves

Experience in developer tooling, integration platforms, or enterprise infrastructure software.
Demonstrated success leading SaaS/cloud transformations.
Understanding of SMB and enterprise software sales cycles.
Experience overseeing support operations as part of R&D.

Responsibilities

Own end‑to‑end delivery of software releases across all development sites.
Drive communication, dependency management, and coordination between India and Eastern Europe.
Implement, refine, and scale Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban) across all teams.
Ensure predictable delivery through capacity planning, velocity tracking, and risk mitigation.
Oversee release management, including approval gates, rollback procedures, and post‑release analysis.
Lead ~80 engineers, QA specialists, and support teams across geographies.
Define team structure and reporting hierarchy to support scalable execution.
Own the full talent lifecycle: workforce planning, hiring, onboarding, and ongoing development.
Drive performance management, coaching, and retention strategies (particularly in high‑competition markets like India).
Build a cohesive engineering culture that operates effectively across cultures and time zones.
Mentor team leads and senior engineers to develop future leaders.
Enforce engineering best practices: coding standards, code review processes, and quality thresholds.
Lead QA strategy including test automation, coverage targets, regression reduction, and reliability processes.
Strengthen CI/CD pipelines, automated testing frameworks, and deployment automation.
Manage technical debt proactively through structured tracking and prioritization.
Ensure production availability through on‑call processes, SLAs, and structured incident reviews.
Oversee engineering across a mature 20–30‑year codebase supporting global enterprise customers.
Drive cloud modernization initiatives including Kubernetes adoption and SaaS enablement.
Maintain high‑quality support and updates for legacy customers during transformation.
Balance capacity across maintenance work and new platform development.
Work closely with Product, Sales, Support, and Professional Services to maintain alignment.
Evaluate roadmap proposals for feasibility, capacity, and delivery impact.
Ensure the engineering organization has full business and customer context.
Manage R&D budgets: headcount, tooling, infrastructure, and training.