Central R&D Senior Director Microcontrollers, Digital ICs and RF Products Group (MDRF)

STMicroelectronics

Multiple Locations

The Central R&D Senior Director supports the Vice President in leading and coordinating the Central R&D organization. This role helps drive strategic alignment, operational excellence, cross-functional collaboration, and execution of key R&D initiatives across the organization.

The Senior Director acts as a trusted partner to the Vice President, ensuring continuity of leadership, follow-up on priorities, and effective communication between R&D teams, senior management, and other business functions.

The Senior Director will translate strategic priorities into clear, measurable objectives and key results and operating metrics, and he/she drives consistent execution across Product development & related R&D functions. This role operates with the authority of the VP Central R&D and works closely with internal Central R&D functional leaders, MDRF General Manager & leaders to align R&D outcomes with MDRF & company priorities, resolve trade-offs, and ensure delivery against agreed results.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Planning & Execution

Translate R&D strategy and leadership priorities into actionable objectives and key results, achievements, and success metrics.
Partner with the Head of R&D & key technologist leaders to define and operationalize long-term technology & Ips roadmaps (e.g., nodes, architectures, …).
Drive execution of strategic initiatives across design, process, and product.
Collaborate within CRD Operation & PMO group on tracking and report progress on critical R&D milestones (e.g., tape-outs, yield targets, PPA improvements).
Monitor progress against strategic objectives and highlight risks, gaps, and opportunities.
Prepare decision-making materials for leadership reviews and governance forums.

Cross-Functional Alignment

Act as a central coordination point across R&D, product lines, and corporate functions.
Ensure tight coordination between central design teams and divisions (internal or external).
Facilitate decision-making across MDRF CRD distributed teams.
Drive collaboration across technical, operational, and business stakeholders.

Operational Excellence

Establish and run the operating cadence (quarterly planning, execution reviews, KPI tracking).
Define and monitor R&D performance indicators, including:
- Development cycle time.
- First-pass success rate.
- Cost efficiency.
Improve execution discipline and scalability through process optimization and best practices.
Strengthen predictability and delivery reliability across the R&D organization.

Executive Communication & Governance

Develop clear, executive-level narratives and reporting on R&D performance and strategy.
Prepare board-level updates, strategy reviews, and leadership materials.
Ensure alignment on priorities, trade-offs, and decisions across senior leadership.
Run governance forums (staff meetings, roadmap reviews, execution reviews).

Organizational Effectiveness

Act with continuous improvement approach in planning, delivery management, and metric rigor. Help teams improve predictability and outcomes in a performance driven environment.
Support organizational design and workforce planning (skills, hiring, outsourcing).
Lead strategic initiatives such as R&D site expansions, Post-merger integrations.
Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, and collaboration.

Leadership Support

Act as a delegate to the VP of R&D when required.
Support leadership communications, including town halls and strategic messaging.
Help steer organizational change and business transformation initiatives.
Operate with a high degree of autonomy, trust, and confidentiality.

Education & Experiences

Advanced degree (Master’s or PhD) in Electrical Engineering, Semiconductor Physics, or related field.
15+ years of experience in semiconductor R&D, engineering leadership, or technology strategy.
Proven experience in leading complex programs or operations in a global, matrix organization.
Strong understanding of the end-to-end semiconductor lifecycle: design - tape-out - manufacturing - test - yield ramp.
Experience with technology nodes, chip architecture, or system-level design.
Track record of driving cross-functional initiatives and operational improvements.
Sound judgment, discretion, and ability to operate with executive-level trust and confidentiality.
Data-driven decision-making and KPI tracking.
Exceptional communication and influencing skills.

Leadership & Functional Skills

Strong strategic thinking combined with execution discipline.
Ability to translate complex technical topics into actionable business decisions.
Excellent stakeholder management and influence at executive level.
Proven ability to drive alignment without direct authority.
Data-driven mindset with strong performance management capabilities.