SVP – Engineering — Data-Centre Silicon Platform

The mandate

A deliberate change of pace is required to deal with engineering commitments exceeding delivery capacity and architecture coherence within a privately held fabless, foundry or semiconductor-systems enterprise. The immediate arena is the data-centre silicon platform during a yield and ramp challenge. For mandate 530, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The SVP – Engineering operating perimeter covers approximately US$8,300 million in design, manufacturing and customer programme portfolio, with activity spanning several data-centre silicon platform customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The SVP – Engineering Semiconductor remit carries direct influence over roughly 650 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a SVP – Engineering who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the data-centre silicon platform. The SVP – Engineering Semiconductor seat must resolve a yield and ramp challenge, while preserving the underlying strengths of the data-centre silicon platform. For mandate 530, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The SVP – Engineering’s first year on the data-centre silicon platform is expected to end with roadmap predictability, quality and stronger technical leadership. In mandate 530, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created SVP – Engineering — Data-Centre Silicon Platform seat, established because a yield and ramp challenge now requires one accountable executive rather than distributed ownership. The board has classified the appointment as urgent and intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 6–8 weeks. Interim governance protects the data-centre silicon platform, but it is not a substitute for a permanent appointee. The external search remains confidential to avoid unnecessary disruption before the appointment is agreed.

What you will own

• Set the SVP – Engineering value-creation thesis for the data-centre silicon platform, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately US$8,300 million in design, manufacturing and customer programme portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the SVP – Engineering Semiconductor organisation of about 650 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the data-centre silicon platform economics and execution constraints created by a yield and ramp challenge, with SVP – Engineering-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one SVP – Engineering operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the data-centre silicon platform; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Show end-to-end ownership of a material platform or value stream, including budget, talent and measurable operating outcomes in mandate 530.
• Build the SVP – Engineering’s three-year succession and capability plan for the data-centre silicon platform, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Semiconductor organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the data-centre silicon platform baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to engineering commitments exceeding delivery capacity and architecture coherence, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal SVP – Engineering portfolio and organisation choices for the data-centre silicon platform, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable data-centre silicon platform trend against roadmap predictability, quality and stronger technical leadership, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the SVP – Engineering’s agreed first-year data-centre silicon platform value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A SVP – Engineering forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the data-centre silicon platform’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the SVP – Engineering mandate’s highest-priority data-centre silicon platform risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical data-centre silicon platform talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the SVP – Engineering’s direct reports.
• A quantified SVP – Engineering-owned improvement in the data-centre silicon platform operating constraint behind a yield and ramp challenge, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 530: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a SVP Engineering, VP R&D or Engineering Centre Head in a privately held Semiconductor or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the data-centre silicon platform, your SVP – Engineering track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from semiconductors, electronics, embedded systems, advanced manufacturing or engineering services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this SVP – Engineering brief.

As a SVP – Engineering candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Semiconductor or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of US$4,800 million and led an organisation of at least 650 people.

For mandate 530, the board wants two transitions: a difficult data-centre silicon platform portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a yield and ramp challenge. As the prospective SVP – Engineering for this data-centre silicon platform, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 530 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The SVP – Engineering must be based in Austin; international relocation is supported, but this Semiconductor role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of SVP Engineering, VP R&D or Engineering Centre Head, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Semiconductor governance forum.
• Proven SVP – Engineering ownership of at least US$4,800 million and leadership of no fewer than 650 employees in a comparable data-centre silicon platform context.
• One completed Semiconductor or adjacent-sector example of engineering commitments exceeding delivery capacity and architecture coherence with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from semiconductors, electronics, embedded systems, advanced manufacturing or engineering services; experience that is purely functional and lacks SVP – Engineering-level data-centre silicon platform consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Austin location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 530.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated SVP – Engineering package is US$320,000–420,000 base + annual incentive, calibrated to the final data-centre silicon platform scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 530 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The SVP – Engineering appointment in Austin, centred on the data-centre silicon platform, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 530.

Confidentiality

To protect the board, incumbent team and candidate, the organisation remains unnamed until a confidential conversation confirms mutual relevance for mandate 530. The operating facts have been rounded and blended expressly to remove identifying signals for mandate 530.