R&D Senior Manager, Engineering, China

AVEVA is a global leader in industrial software, headquartered in Cambridge, UK, and part of the Schneider Electric group. More than 20,000 industrial enterprises across over 100 countries use AVEVA’s technology to engineer, operate , and optimize their assets more safely, efficiently, and sustainably. This role sits within AVEVA’s Engineering business, home to the Unified Engineering platform and a wider portfolio of design and engineering software used by owner-operators and EPCs worldwide.

This role is primarily accountable for building and leading a local R&D organization in China for delivering AVEVA Unified Engineering’s China strategy through that organization — beginning with compliance exploration and pilot delivery and continuing through its ongoing evolution beyond that initial delivery.

Customer discovery, requirements definition, technical and solution architecture, and the exploration of AI capabilities in China engineering scenarios remain part of the role but are not its primary accountability: you will build a team around you to lead these activities day to day, while you set direction and make the final calls.

A defining element of the role is finding pragmatic intersections between global architectural constraints and China market realities: representing China’s voice within the global product organization, translating local customer requirements into executable R&D pathways, and maximizing local technical innovation within defined authorization boundaries.

This is a role for someone who combines strong organizational leadership with technical judgement and business acumen — able to build and lead a local team that collaborates closely with Engineering teams around the world on an ongoing basis.

Build, develop, and lead a high-performing local R&D team in China.

Recruit, develop, and manage the performance of the local R&D team.

Coordinate resources effectively within a global matrix organization and drive cross-time-zone, cross-cultural technical collaboration.

Provide regular updates to the China leadership on R&D progress, technical risks, and resource requirements.

Represent China in global R&D strategy discussions and ensure China strategy engineering requirements are given appropriate priority in the global product roadmap.

Define the technical boundaries and feasible delivery scope for the China version of UE and establish a practical path that balances Xinchuang requirements with global architectural constraints.

Direct your team’s ongoing evaluation of the domestic LLM and AI technology ecosystem for potential integration into engineering design scenarios.

Lead technical decision-making and milestone management from compliance exploration and pilot release through to production readiness and beyond, as the China version of UE continues to evolve .

Lead the local team in completing customization content adaptation, extension development, customized packaging, and validation in localized and Xinchuang environments.

Direct your team’s exploration of AI agents and copilots to enhance the efficiency of local engineering workflows, building differentiated capabilities that leverage domestic AI models.

Guide your team in conducting in-depth technical interviews with strategic customers, translating real engineering execution scenarios from owner-operators and EPCs into product requirements.

Oversee technical solution design and on-site deployment for pilot projects, with your team leading day-to-day delivery and ensuring priority workflows run reliably in compliant environments.

Build technical trust with customers and provide credible technical endorsement for the commercial team.

You will be working with teams in China and the UK, so you will work across time zones and cultures daily . Your key relationships include:

The local China R&D team you build and lead

The UK global R&D organization

The Portfolio Lead, on scope, priorities, and delivery sequencing

The China leadership team

Global product management and the global product roadmap community

Strategic customers and pilot accounts — owner-operators, EPCs, and their engineering teams

Above all else , we are looking for the right person, not the perfect CV. We value clear thinking, strong judgement, and the ability to make pragmatic technical decisions under real constraints, not just familiarity with tools or terminology. We are prioritizing proven leadership experience within B2B enterprise software organizations over deep domain-specific engineering knowledge, although the latter would also be advantageous .

Our global team of 2000+ developers work on an incredibly diverse portfolio of over 75 industrial automation and engineering products, which cover everything from data management to 3D design. AI and cloud are at the centre of our strategy, and we have over 150 patents to our name.

Our track record of innovation is no fluke – it’s the result of a structured and deliberate focus on learning, collaboration and inclusivity. If you want to build applications that solve big problems, join us.

Find out more: aveva.com/en/about/careers/r-and-d-careers/

AVEVA requires all successful applicants to undergo and pass a comprehensive background check before they start employment. Background checks will be conducted in accordance with local laws and may, subject to those laws, include proof of educational attainment, employment history verification, proof of work authorization, criminal records, identity verification, credit check. Certain positions dealing with sensitive and/or third party personal data may involve additional background check criteria.

AVEVA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to being an exemplary employer with an inclusive culture, developing a workplace environment where all our employees are treated with dignity and respect. We value diversity and the expertise that people from different backgrounds bring to our business. Come and join AVEVA to create the transformative technology that enables our customers to engineer a better world.