If you searched Superstar Sourcing for VP Software Design on January 3, 2026 you'd find 298 great candidates

J** B****

Co-Founder / CTO at Simian

This candidate has extensive executive and design leadership experience across complex systems. Co-Founder/CTO at Simian → Co-Founder/CTO at Solmirus → Co-Founder/CTO at VOLTA (11y 8m) → Staff Engineer at Fluke Networks → Senior Software Systems Architect at DEC. Excellent.

L**** Z***

Director Software Engineering at Synaptics Incorporated

This candidate has demonstrated experience as a Director managing software engineering projects and teams, aligning closely with the leadership and management aspects of a VP role. Director of Software Engineering at Adobe → Staff Engineer, deep experience in project management and design. Excellent.

J** A****

Senior Engineering Manager of Platform Firmware Development at Milwaukee Tool

Excellent alignment with Executive level management of platform firmware development, including strategic initiatives, roadmapping, and managing executive stakeholders, which overlaps significantly with VP Software Design. Milwaukee Tool (Group/Sr Manager/Chief Eng) managing 30+ developers, 42 years exp. Excellent.

D**** W****

Director of Software Engineering at Cimetrix

This candidate has direct Director/Manager experience overseeing software engineering teams and acting as a Staff/Architect level developer, aligning well with the leadership and architecture aspects of VP Software Design. Director of Software Engineering → Senior Staff/Architect at Cimetrix → Manager, showing clear progression into senior leadership roles. Excellent.

C**** L****

Looking For The Right Position

This candidate has substantial high-level design and architecture experience, clearly leading in complex firmware development. Development Technologist (Contractor) at Seagate → Storage Fellow at XIO (6y 8m), Design Technologist at Seagate (5y 5m). Patented architect in storage systems. Strong.

J*** B****

This candidate has managerial experience, has reviewed/approved architectural designs, and acted as a Software Architect, hitting many senior design leadership requirements, although the role is Owner/Manager rather than VP. Owner → SE Manager at Ipro Tech (managed teams, approved designs) → Eng Manager at Kaseya (managed team, approved designs) → Sr SE → Software Architect at JCM Global. Strong.

W**** K****

Hardware/Software Designer/Developer

This candidate has strong executive and architecture experience, including being a former VP and Architect at Microsoft. Control Alt Design (HW/SW Design) → Software Architect at Microsoft (Windows kernel) → Director of Engineering (managing SW/HW dept) → current consultant. Strong.

J*** A****

Distinguished Software Engineer at Veeco Instruments

This candidate has clear experience stepping into management and acting as a technical/architectural lead at a senior level, making them a strong prospect, though VP title is missing. Distinguished SWE (Architecture/Lead) → Director of SWE (Management) → Distinguished SWE (Architecture/Lead) at Veeco. Strong.

M*** H****

Principal Software Engineer, Simulation Development - Intelligrated

This Principal Software Engineer has significant relevant experience leading teams, acting as Lead Architect, and participating in high-level design phases for a major organization. Honeywell → Trew → Principal SWE at Intelligrated (36 years total). Strong.

J** L****

Senior Technologist at Western Digital

This individual has decades of experience spanning architecture, design, development, and senior technical roles, including 'C-Level' in the headline, indicating executive exposure and deep architectural understanding. Principal Developer at LSI → Senior Technologist/Principal Developer at Western Digital. Excellent.

K**** S****

Chief Software Engineer at NI (now part of Emerson)

This candidate has recent experience as Chief Software Engineer leading large engineering teams and technical direction, strongly matching leadership, design, and executive alignment. Chief Software Engineer → Principal Engineer → Chief Software Engineer, 27 years exp. Strong.

D*** W****

Software Engineering Manager at Universal Avionics

This candidate has significant senior leadership experience, including Director roles focusing on software/firmware strategy and managing teams, making them a strong prospect for VP Software Design. Universal Avionics (Manager/Director) → Cisco Systems, 33 years experience. Strong.

D**** G****

Software Development Manager at Compass Group

This candidate is a current Software Development Manager who explicitly develops technical designs, implements architectural strategies, and manages engineering teams, fitting well below the VP level but heavily on the leadership/design side. Compass Group Manager (current) → Lead Developer → Senior Developer, focus on workflow systems and DevOps strategy. Strong.

K**** Y****

Principal Software Engineer at Collins Aerospace

Strong fit as a Principal Engineer who explicitly provided technical direction, managed projects across system domains (hardware/software/firmware), and created architecture/design documentation lifecycle, suggesting leadership depth appropriate for a VP pipeline. Principal Software Engineer focusing on full lifecycle systems/software engineering, regulatory, and technical direction. Collins Aerospace. Strong.

C**** B****

Senior Group Manager, Software R&D

This candidate has clear high-level management and product delivery experience, moving toward leadership, which aligns well with a VP role, though focused on R&D management rather than pure VP Software Design. Progressed rapidly through management and leadership at NI, leading teams to product delivery. Intern → ELP → Supervisor → Manager → Senior Group Manager. Strong.

D**** S****

Senior Software Engineer (VP) at Credit Suisse

This Senior Software Engineer (who holds the title Assistant Vice President in one role) shows strong technical design and leadership in high-performance environments, aligning well with the architecture and leadership aspects. Credit Suisse (Sr SE/AVP on trading platform) → HPE SimpliVity → ITG (Sr SE/AVP on messaging SOA) → Lenel (Tech Lead). Strong.

J**** W****

Former Senior Manager Firmware/Software - Now enjoying retirement

While currently retired, this background shows extensive Senior Management and Project Management experience managing software R&D teams, which strongly correlates with VP design leadership. Former Senior Manager/Project Manager at HP/SUSE for decades, managed 10-12 person R&D teams. Strong.

B**** R****

Senior Embedded Software Engineer at iDevices, LLC

This candidate explicitly mentions proficiency in architecture, design, and serving as a Senior Software Architect and Principle Software Engineer, making them a strong candidate for Software Architecture and leadership, though not quite VP listed. Principle Software Engineer / Sr. Software Architect → Staff Embedded Software Engineer. Strong.

G*** M****

Software Engineer Freelancer/Computer Science Lecturer

This candidate has substantial experience spanning software design leadership, team management, and architecture across various industries, fitting the senior nature of the VP role. Software Consultant/Lecturer → Led teams, designed enterprise/game software using C#/ASP.NET, C++. Strong.

D** C****

Staff Developer at OSIsoft/AVEVA

This candidate explicitly lists 'systems architect' and 'full stack .NET architecture' recently, and has prior management experience, making them a strong candidate for design leadership, though not currently at the VP title. Ex-Sig (Dev Mgr) → IQVIA (Architect) → AVEVA (Staff Dev/Architect). Strong.

C**** L****

Systems Thinking, Product Mindset

Strong technical background in systems engineering, architecture, and technical leadership across diverse domains. Systems Design Architect at IGT → Principal Software Engineer → Manufacturing Diagnostics Lead. Strong.

D**** R****

Manager, Embedded Development at Exacq Technologies

This candidate has clear experience managing embedded development teams and was responsible for system architecture and setting development standards, showing strong overlap with the responsibilities of a VP in design. Manager/Sr. Sys App Eng/Mgr API at Exacq/Vispero/yikes, heavy on embedded/system architecture/management. Strong.

L**** H****

Software Architect | MSTM, Software Engineer, SSDLC, Agile, CI/CD, C#, C/C++

This candidate is explicitly titled a Software Architect with 30 years of experience leading engineering sections and managing test engineers, fitting the senior technical leadership requirement strongly. Raytheon → HP → Raytheon. Strong.

K**** M****

Senior Software Design Engineer at ASML

This candidate has excellent recent experience as a Senior Software Design Engineer and Architect involved in SAFe, product ownership, and managing requirements related to complex systems, hitting most leadership and design markers. Sr SDE/Architect → Product Owner/Architect in SAFe environment, simulation focus, patents. Strong.

A*** T****

....

This candidate has significant experience managing large, international embedded software and web services teams, indicating strong leadership and management background relevant to a VP role, although 'Software Design' specialization is implied rather than explicit VP title. Sr. Manager → Project Manager → Sr. Software Engineer, managing large teams. Strong.

J**** W****

Senior Software Engineer ► Lead full life cycle software development

This long-tenured senior engineer explicitly lists expertise in system-wide and object-oriented design, leading projects, and possessing highly relevant technical skills aligning strongly with design leadership. Nokia → Senior Software Engineer, 28 years total. Strong.

Y*** K****

Staff Engineer at DDN

This Staff Engineer consistently designs and implements high-performance systems over many years, suggesting strong architecture and leadership in design, though not explicitly executive level. DDN (Staff Engineer) → Hewlett-Packard (Principal SE, 15 yrs) → Comverse (Principal SE, 10 yrs). Strong.

D**** M****

Software Development Manager at Invenco by GVR

This candidate has strong recent overlap in Systems Architect and Software Development Manager roles, hitting architecture, management, and technical leadership perfectly, though the title is not explicitly VP. Soft Dev Manager → Systems Architect, 29 years exp. Strong.

C*** G****

Principal Software Engineer at Tektronix

This candidate has significant recent experience as a Software Architect and Senior Engineer, heavily involved in writing design documents and architecture specifications, making them a strong match for the design and architecture components, though not explicitly VP level. Principal SWE (Tektronix) → Sr SWE/Architect (Hillrom/Welch Allyn) focused on architecture of embedded Linux systems. Strong.

M*** H****

Staff Software Engineer

This individual has strong experience in leading technical design, architecture, and feature definition, aligning well with the design leadership aspect of the role, although the current title is Staff Engineer, suggesting a very senior IC path instead of VP. Siemens Healthineers → EMC Global Services → Thermo Fisher Scientific (Staff/Principal Engineer roles). Strong.