Director, Guest Engineering

About the Role

The Director, Guest Engineering is the single technical and organizational leader for Subway's full guest-facing digital stack — mobile (iOS, Android), web, kiosk, and the middleware/API platform layer that powers ordering, loyalty, identity, and guest data across every channel. Reporting to the VP of Guest Engineering, this Director owns end-to-end delivery across a full-stack, pod-based engineering organization spanning four cross-functional pods, each combining mobile, web, and middleware engineers under a single roadmap. This is a new role requiring a deeply technical leader who can set architectural direction across front-end and back-end domains, build and retain a high-performing multi-disciplinary organization of 20+ engineers, and operate with significant autonomy in a complex, high-stakes consumer digital environment — with a genuine commitment to AI-assisted development practices.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and organizational leadership across all guest-facing surfaces (iOS, Android, web, kiosk) and the middleware/API platform (Fresh APIs, Digital APIs, Identity, MarTech integration) — own the multi-year technical roadmap and platform strategy end-to-end, and align surface and platform evolution with Subway's guest experience and business priorities.
• Lead, develop, and retain a team of Sr. Development Managers, Tech Leads, and Solution Architects across the full-stack pod model; build a high-trust, high-accountability engineering culture; own performance management, career development, and succession planning across the entire Guest Engineering organization.
• Partner with the VP of Guest Engineering, product owners, and cross-functional stakeholders (Finance, HR, MarTech, Guest Ops) to define and deliver quarterly roadmap commitments spanning surface delivery and the underlying API platform; resolve cross-team dependencies end-to-end and escalate blockers with clear recommendations.
• Own production operations and platform reliability across all guest-facing surfaces and the middleware layer — establish on-call standards, incident response protocols, and SLA targets; serve as engineering executive sponsor for the AWS Cognito identity platform and 3PD partner integrations (DoorDash, UberEats, Grubhub, Walmart); drive root cause analysis and continuous stability improvement.
• Champion AI-assisted development across the Guest Engineering organization — set tooling standards, model responsible use, and embed AI-augmented workflows into architecture reviews, code review, test coverage, and delivery practices across every pod.
• Drive hiring strategy, headcount planning, job description design, and technical screen standards across all pods; own onboarding for FTE and staff augmentation engineers in partnership with HR and vendor partners.

Requirements

• Deep expertise across both front-end (React Native, cross-platform mobile/web) and back-end (API platform engineering, RESTful and event-driven architectures, AWS Lambda, API Gateway, EventBridge, SQS) domains — sufficient to set architectural direction, challenge technical proposals, and earn credibility with senior engineers across every surface and the middleware layer.
• Proven experience leading the delivery of high-traffic, high-availability consumer-facing digital platforms at scale — ordering, loyalty, or commerce applications preferred.
• Strong command of modern front-end architecture patterns (shared component libraries, state management, CDN/edge delivery) alongside identity and access management patterns (OAuth 2.0, social sign-in, large-scale CDP/identity migration such as AWS Cognito).
• Demonstrated commitment to AI-assisted development: active use of AI coding and architecture tools and the ability to set organizational standards and coach engineering teams on effective adoption.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines (Azure DevOps), AWS infrastructure, Akamai CDN, LaunchDarkly feature flag management, and release engineering across App Store / Google Play / kiosk distribution and production API environments.
• 10+ years of software engineering experience with 4+ years in engineering director or senior management roles leading multi-team organizations of 20+ engineers across mobile, web, and backend/API disciplines.
• Proven track record of building and scaling full-stack engineering organizations — including hiring, developing Sr. Development Managers and Tech Leads, managing performance, and building inclusive cultures across distributed teams.
• Exceptional cross-functional communication — able to translate technical complexity across front-end and platform domains into business impact for VP, C-suite, and product stakeholders; equally comfortable in a vendor contract negotiation and an architecture review.
• Demonstrated ability to manage large, concurrent programs (platform migrations, multi-surface launches, partner integrations) with accountability for delivery outcomes and SLA compliance.
• Comfortable operating with significant autonomy in a fast-paced, high-ambiguity environment; able to make high-quality technical and organizational decisions under uncertainty with appropriate escalation judgment.
• Data-driven leader: defines and owns the measurement framework for the full Guest Engineering organization, establishes leading and lagging indicators across delivery velocity, platform reliability, and guest experience impact, and uses metrics to drive concrete adjustments to team structure, process, and technical direction.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent practical experience).

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with React Native at scale across iOS, Android, and web surfaces, paired with hands-on backend/API platform delivery.
• Background managing 3PD marketplace integrations (DoorDash, UberEats, Grubhub, or equivalent) at the API level.
• Experience with AWS Cognito or a comparable identity platform at 5M+ MAU scale.
• Hands-on familiarity with Adobe Experience Platform (AEP), Adobe Journey Optimizer (AJO), and Adobe Campaign (ACC).
• Background delivering kiosk or embedded Android applications in a retail or hospitality environment.
• Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or MBA; relevant certifications in AWS, mobile platforms, API design, or program management are a plus.

Benefits

• Insurance Plans (Medical, Life)
• Pension/401K/RSP (country specific)
• Competitive Bonus
• Mobility Allowance
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Company Holidays
• Volunteering time