Director, Software Engineering - Network OR Security Background - 15+ yrs

Role Overview:

We are seeking a Director of Engineering to lead the end-to-end development of our next-generation Firewall and Network Security Platform. The ideal candidate will combine deep technical understanding of networking, security, and systems software with proven experience in building and scaling high-performance engineering teams.

You will provide technical direction, organizational leadership, and execution discipline to an engineering organization that includes architects, managers, and developers across multiple subsystems — data plane, control plane, policy engine, management console, and APIs.

Key Responsibilities:

• Define and execute the engineering roadmap for the firewall product in collaboration with Product Management and Architecture teams.
• Translate product vision into clear technical objectives, milestones, and execution plans.
• Build and scale a high-performance team, fostering collaboration and accountability.
• Drive architectural coherence and ensure long-term scalability and performance of the platform.
• Establish strong engineering processes — planning, estimation, reviews, and quality metrics.
• Monitor KPIs for delivery predictability, code quality, and system performance.
• Collaborate with QA and DevOps leaders to ensure high release velocity without compromising stability.
• Conduct regular 1:1s, performance reviews, and growth planning for the team
• Ensure cross-functional collaboration across architecture, product management, and customer support.

Required Skills & Experience

• 15+ years in software development and 5+ years in engineering leadership
• Strong understanding of network security concepts (TCP/IP, IPsec, VPN, routing, NAT, DPI, etc.).
• Deep experience in networking and systems-level development.
• Experience with scalable, distributed systems and control/management plane architectures.
• Familiarity with DPDK, Netfilter, or similar packet processing frameworks is a plus.
• Proven track record of shipping complex infrastructure or security products.
• Experience managing multiple parallel workstreams and balancing technical debt vs. feature delivery.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Why SonicWall?

• Global Cybersecurity Impact – Protect over 1M+ networks and 500K+ organizations worldwide.
• Innovation & Learning – Access Udemy Business, virtual labs, and threat research deep dives to keep growing.
• Collaborative Culture – Work with global teams of engineers and researchers solving real security challenges.
• Ownership & Purpose – Your ideas drive change and make the digital world more secure.

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