Engineering Director Jobs in San Diego, CA

Engineering Director jobs in San Diego are concentrated in defense and aerospace, biotech and life sciences, and enterprise software, with hiring activity centered in Sorrento Valley, Torrey Pines, and the UTC/Miramar corridor. Employers posting right now include Qualcomm, Shield AI, and Fairmont. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.

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Overview

Open roles290+
Top employerQualcomm
Work type100% On-site
Top credentialBachelor's degree in electrical engineering
Companies hiring15

Showing 5 of 290+ Engineering Director jobs

Fairmont
Assistant Director of Engineering
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Fairmont
Added 4d ago
Assistant Director of Engineering
Fairmont
San Diego, California
Business Operations
Executive Leadership & C-Suite
Project Management
Sales
Experience equivalent to degree accepted
10,000+

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IHG Hotels & Resorts
Director Engineering
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IHG Hotels & Resorts
Added 1w ago
Director Engineering
IHG Hotels & Resorts
San Diego, California
IT Support
IT Support & Systems Administration
Project Management
Technical Program Management
$149k - $187k/yr
EPA Refrigeration Certification
10,000+

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Qualcomm
Sr. Director - Engineering
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Qualcomm
Added 1w ago
Sr. Director - Engineering
Qualcomm
San Diego, California
Project & Program Management
Solutions Engineering & Architecture
Technical Program Management
$277k - $415k/yr
Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering
10,000+

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Noble House Hotels & Resorts
Assistant Director of Engineering
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Noble House Hotels & Resorts
Added 3w ago
Assistant Director of Engineering
Noble House Hotels & Resorts
San Diego, California
Business Strategy
Executive Leadership & C-Suite
Strategy & Corporate Development
$90k - $105k/yr
1,001-5,000

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Element Biosciences Inc
Director, Software Engineering
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Element Biosciences Inc
Added 1mo ago
Director, Software Engineering
Element Biosciences Inc
San Diego, California
Cloud Engineering
DevOps
Solutions Engineering & Architecture
$180k - $254k/yr
On-Site
Bachelor's degree
201-500

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See All 290+ Engineering Director Jobs in San Diego

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Engineering Director Job Market in San Diego

Who's Hiring

  • Qualcomm
    Qualcomm73
  • Shield AI
    Shield AI29
  • Fairmont
    Fairmont15
  • Campos EPC
    Campos EPC15
  • M
    Murata America15

Top Industries Hiring

  • Telecommunications29
  • Technology & Software29
  • Electronics & Hardware29
  • Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals29
  • Energy15

Engineering Director Jobs in San Diego: Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a engineering director job in San Diego?

The clearest path in San Diego is building deep technical leadership experience within defense contracting, biotech, or enterprise software, the three sectors that drive the most engineering director hiring here. Employers in the Sorrento Valley and Torrey Pines corridors prioritize candidates who have managed cross-functional teams through product development cycles or hardware programs. Security clearance eligibility gives candidates a genuine edge with the many defense-adjacent firms clustered around Miramar and Kearny Mesa.

Which companies hire engineering directors in San Diego?

San Diego engineering director roles are posted by Qualcomm, Shield AI, and Fairmont and others right now, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of October 2026. The local market is shaped by a mix of large defense primes, mid-size biotech companies, and fast-growing enterprise software firms, many of which maintain substantial engineering organizations in the UTC and Sorrento Valley areas.

Are there remote engineering director jobs in San Diego?

Yes, though availability depends heavily on the sector, since hardware, defense, and lab-based biotech roles require on-site presence while software-focused director positions are far more remote-friendly. About 0% of engineering director openings tied to San Diego are remote or hybrid as of October 2026, with most flexibility concentrated in enterprise software and SaaS companies. Strategic planning, roadmap work, and stakeholder meetings are the functions most commonly handled remotely in these roles.

How can I get a engineering director job in San Diego with little or no experience?

The most realistic entry path is stepping into a senior engineer or engineering manager role at a mid-size San Diego biotech or defense contractor and building a record of leading multi-engineer teams through full delivery cycles. Smaller companies in the Sorrento Valley corridor and startup-stage software firms in the UTC area are more willing to promote from within than large primes. Gaining experience with government contract environments or GMP-regulated product development makes candidates significantly more competitive for director-level openings here.

Which industries hire the most engineering directors in San Diego?

The sectors hiring the most engineering directors in San Diego are Telecommunications, Technology & Software, and Electronics & Hardware, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of October 2026. San Diego's concentration of Navy and Marine Corps installations, top-tier research universities, and a deep biotech cluster anchored around Torrey Pines drives consistent demand across all three sectors.

See All 290+ Engineering Director Jobs in San Diego

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