Director, Digital Engineering and Enablement

Xylem is a Fortune 500 global water solutions company dedicated to advancing sustainable impact and empowering the people who make water work every day. As a leading water technology company with 23,000 employeesoperating in over 150 countries, Xylem is at the forefront of addressing the world's most critical water challenges. We invite passionate individuals to join our team, dedicated to exceeding customer expectations through innovative and sustainable solutions.

Position: Director, Digital Engineering and Enablement 

Reports To:  Senior Director - GCC  | Location: Bangalore / Chennai, India

About the role

At Xylem, we’re solving one of the world’s most critical challenges - WATER.

From enabling smarter infrastructure to building connected and sustainable digital ecosystems, technology plays a critical role in how we innovate, operate, and deliver impact globally. As we continue to strengthen our Global Capability Center (GCC) in India, we’re looking for a leader who can shape and scale the future of Digital Engineering across global teams and platforms.

Could you be the Director – Digital Engineering & Enablement we’re looking for?

Your future role

Step into a high-impact leadership role where digital engineering, operational excellence, and transformation come together at scale.

You will lead and grow Xylem’s global Digital Engineering and Enablement capability in India, driving execution across electronic hardware, firmware, software, cloud platforms, enterprise applications, and mobile technologies. Working closely with global engineering leaders, PMOs, product engineering teams, and business stakeholders, you will:

• Shape scalable digital engineering capabilities and operating models
• Drive transformation through process-led execution and engineering governance
• Build a culture of innovation, accountability, and operational excellence
• Enable adoption of emerging technologies, including AI/ML, to improve productivity, quality, and speed-to-market

This role is not just about leading technology programs - it’s about building strategic capability, improving predictability, and enabling digital engineering excellence globally.

What you’ll be doing

You will play a critical role across multiple dimensions:

🌍 Strategic Leadership

• Define and drive the GCC Digital Engineering strategy aligned with global business priorities and technology roadmaps
• Establish scalable organization structures, leadership capacity, and operating models to support diverse engineering programs
• Align investments, priorities, and resource planning with business outcomes and stakeholder expectations
• Drive organizational transformation through strong operational and strategic leadership aligned with engineering and corporate priorities

⚙️ Digital Engineering Excellence

• Lead execution across embedded systems, enterprise applications, cloud platforms, and mobile technologies with a focus on quality, predictability, and execution excellence
• Oversee the engineering lifecycle from architecture through development, validation, deployment, and sustainment
• Manage program trade-offs, dependencies, risks, and commitments in collaboration with global stakeholders
• Strengthen engineering governance, secure-by-design practices, and lifecycle discipline across digital engineering programs

📈 Process Excellence & Operational Enablement

• Establish end-to-end engineering frameworks, governance models, and delivery practices to improve consistency, compliance, and quality
• Embed disciplined execution practices across requirements management, design, validation, defect management, and release governance
• Drive operational excellence through KPI-led performance management, continuous improvement, and standardized execution practices
• Improve delivery speed, predictability, productivity, and engineering efficiency through data-driven planning and execution management

👥 Building & Leading Teams

• Build and develop high-performing teams across hardware, firmware, software, and digital platform engineering
• Drive workforce planning, organization design, and capability development aligned with business growth and engineering priorities
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement across global teams
• Strengthen leadership pipelines, succession planning, and cross-functional engineering collaboration

💡 AI/ML Enablement & Innovation

• Enable pragmatic adoption of emerging technologies, including AI/ML, to improve productivity, quality, automation, and time-to-market
• Promote reuse, modularity, standardization, and technical debt reduction across engineering programs
• Partner with engineering and business stakeholders to identify scalable digital transformation opportunities

🤝 Stakeholder Collaboration & Governance

• Partner closely with Project Management, Segment Engineering, Product Engineering, Regional PMOs, and business stakeholders to improve delivery outcomes
• Represent Digital Engineering & Enablement in executive reviews, operational governance forums, and strategic discussions
• Act as the primary GCC digital engineering leader for global stakeholders, aligning priorities, resolving escalations, and strengthening stakeholder trust

All about you

We value leadership mindset, strategic thinking, operational excellence, and business impact over ticking every box.

That said, here’s what will help you succeed:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Electronics, or related field required
• Master’s degree preferred
• 15+ years of experience, including significant leadership experience in global engineering environments
• Proven experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams across hardware, firmware, software, cloud, and digital platforms
• Strong understanding of engineering governance, operating models, lifecycle management, and process-driven execution
• Experience driving digital transformation, operational excellence initiatives, and scalable engineering capabilities
• Exposure to AI/ML enablement, secure-by-design practices, and KPI-led performance management
• Ability to lead effectively in a complex, matrixed, global organization
• A collaborative leader with strong executive presence and stakeholder management capability

What you’ll enjoy

Join us and be part of something bigger than just a role:

• Work on meaningful challenges impacting global water sustainability and digital innovation
• Collaborate with diverse, global teams across engineering, technology, and business functions
• Build and scale a high-visibility Digital Engineering capability within a growing GCC
• Shape your career into broader technology, operational, or enterprise leadership roles
• Be part of a culture that values innovation, inclusion, and continuous growth

Why Xylem?

• At Xylem, you don’t just build digital solutions -  you help enable smarter, more connected, and more sustainable outcomes globally.
• And when you see the impact of your work across industries, infrastructure, and communities, you’ll know you’re part of something truly meaningful.

Ready to make an impact?

If you’re excited about driving digital transformation, building engineering capability, and shaping global technology outcomes — we’d love to hear from you.

Join the global Xylem team to be a part of innovative technology solutions transforming water usage, conservation, and re-use. Our products impact public utilities, industrial sectors, residential areas, and commercial buildings, with a commitment to providing smart metering, network technologies, and advanced analytics for water, electric, and gas utilities. Partner with us in creating a world where water challenges are met with ingenuity and dedication; where we recognize the power of inclusion and belonging in driving innovation and allowing us to compete more effectively around the world.