Software Engineering Director

At Cadence, we hire and develop leaders and innovators who want to make an impact on the world of technology.Role OverviewResponsible for end-to-end product validation to ensure the solution works reliably in real customer environments. This role operates downstream of Software Testing and Evaluation, focusing on validating full product behavior, interfaces, configurations, and release readiness.Key Responsibilities Feature & Regression ValidationValidate all product features against specifications for each release candidateOwn regression coverage and identify behavioral drift across releasesReproduce, triage, and track customer-reported issues through resolution Interface & UX ValidationTest across all user interfaces: TUI, VS Code extension, web UI, and future surfacesValidate workflows, interactions, and usability across platforms (OS, IDEs, terminals) Environment & Configuration TestingValidate across deployment environments: AWS, GCP, and on-premEnsure functional parity across model providers (e.g., Claude, GPT, Gemini)Test authentication, licensing, and network/proxy configurationsMaintain a documented support and validation matrix Customer Environment ReplicationBuild and maintain replicas of key customer environmentsRun parallel validation across multiple customer profilesKeep environments aligned with evolving customer setups Release Readiness & GatingDefine and enforce QA pass/fail criteria for releasesOwn validation plans, test checklists, and QA sign-offBlock releases when quality standards are not met Cross-Team CollaborationWork with Software Testing and Evaluation as downstream validation ownerRoute defects to the appropriate teams (Engineering, Testing, Evaluation)Feed real-world data back into evaluation frameworks QA Infrastructure & AutomationMaintain validation environments, test harnesses, and automation frameworksDrive automation where cost-effective while preserving critical manual coverageEnsure validation processes are documented and reproducibleThe 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.