Director, Software Engineering

Job Description Summary

The Director, Software Engineering leads the development of innovative technology products used by hundreds of thousands of students. They ensure quality solutions are delivered on time, within budget, and within scope, manage teams, and employ AI to improve software quality and velocity.

Essential Functions And Responsibilities

• Ensure software development teams consistently deliver quality solutions on time, within budget, and within scope.
• Drive the full software development life cycle, including requirements analysis, feasibility estimates, design, coding, documentation, testing, implementation, and support.
• Develop project plans, manage resource planning, oversee scheduling, and monitor development timelines.
• Build, lead, and manage multidisciplinary software engineering teams and AI coding/testing agents, ensuring development processes adhere to industry best practices.
• Oversee the quality and process of design reviews, code reviews, and mentoring efforts to support team growth and technical excellence.
• Support change management processes related to software releases, application patching, and production configuration changes.
• Manage multiple priorities in high-pressure environments while identifying and resolving issues early to reduce project risk, cost, and timeline impacts.
• Provide oversight and management of department expenses, budget planning, and resource allocation.

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

• Strong people leadership and management skills, with the ability to engage effectively with staff, colleagues, cross-functional teams, and external partners.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex technical requirements into functional software using industry best practices.
• Expertise in vendor contract management and the management of distributed development teams and resources.
• Experience with application architecture and informed buy-versus-build and interface decision-making.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to work effectively in both self-managed and team-based Agile/Scrum environments.
• Deep technical knowledge of web applications and web services.
• Solid understanding of cloud services and modern cloud architecture.
• Fluency in multiple AI development tools and frameworks such as Claude Code, Amazon Q, Cursor, GitHub CoPilot.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Minimum of 8 years of software engineering experience.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience leading a team, including at least 2 years at the Senior Manager or Director level.
• Experience driving team adoption of AI-native coding and/or AI coding agents.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in the higher education technology domain.

Travel Requirements

This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including attendance at designated company summits, typically one to two per year. Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed to support business requirements.

Position & Application Details

• Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.
• To apply, interested candidates should submit an application online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive. Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu. Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.