Director of Software Engineering
Where You Fit
We are seeking a Director of Software Engineering to lead and develop engineering teams responsible for multiple enterprise software products serving government customers.
This role combinespeople leadership, delivery ownership, and technical leadership. You will lead engineering managers, technical leads, developers, and QA professionals while working closely with Product Management, Professional Services, and other business leaders to deliver reliable software and continuously improve how our teams operate.
You do not need to be the person writing every line of code or making every technical decision. You do need enough technical depth to ask the right questions, challenge assumptions, guide teams through difficult decisions, and help translate business needs into sound engineering outcomes.
We are looking for a leader who creates accountability without creating fear, develops strong leaders beneath them, and builds teams that surface problems early and solve them together.
Responsibilities
Engineering Leadership
Lead and develop engineering managers, technical leads, developers, and QA professionals.
Build a culture of ownership, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Coach managers and emerging leaders and create opportunities for engineers to grow.
Establish clear expectations while creating an environment where teams raise risks and problems early.
Recruit, retain, and develop strong engineering talent.
Delivery & Execution
Own engineering delivery across assigned product lines, including enhancements, defects, customer commitments, and technical initiatives.
Improve predictability, quality, release readiness, and engineering execution.
Work with teams to identify risks, dependencies, and obstacles before they affect customer commitments.
Support customer implementations, go-lives, production issues, and escalations when engineering leadership is needed.
Balance new product capabilities, customer needs, technical debt, and long-term platform investments.
Technical Leadership & Modernization
Provide technical direction and help teams make sound architecture and engineering decisions.
Guide modernization of mature enterprise applications while balancing innovation with customer and business needs.
Promote maintainable software, effective testing, observability, security, and sustainable engineering practices.
Ensure technical debt is understood, prioritized, and actively managed.
Stay close enough to the technology to effectively challenge, support, and guide engineering teams without becoming a bottleneck for technical decisions.
AI-Enabled Engineering
Champion practical adoption of AI throughout the software development lifecycle.
Help teams use AI as a force multiplier for development, testing, analysis, documentation, and problem solving.
Encourage experimentation while establishing appropriate expectations for quality, security, review, and accountability.
Identify opportunities to use AI to improve both engineering productivity and our products.
Cross-Functional & Customer Leadership
Partner closely with Product Management and Professional Services to establish priorities and deliver customer outcomes.
Communicate status, risks, tradeoffs, and recommendations clearly to business and technical leaders.
Participate in customer conversations and escalations when engineering leadership is needed.
Build trust between Engineering and the teams that depend on it.
Qualifications
Significant software engineering experience with progressive leadership responsibility.
Experience leading engineering teams and developing managers, technical leads, and senior engineers.
Strong technical foundation with the ability to understand architecture, software design, data, APIs, cloud technologies, and modern development practices.
Experience delivering and supporting complex enterprise software.
Experience balancing product development, customer commitments, technical debt, and modernization.
Demonstrated ability to improve engineering quality, execution, and predictability.
Experience leading teams through change and modernization.
Strong understanding of modern software engineering practices, including testing, security, CI/CD, observability, and cloud technologies.
Practical understanding of AI-assisted software development and an interest in expanding its effective use.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to work effectively with executives, customers, Product Management, Professional Services, and engineering teams.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with enterprise SaaS or complex business applications.
Experience modernizing mature or legacy software platforms.
Experience with Microsoft technologies, particularly .NET, SQL Server, and Azure.
Experience with distributed systems, APIs, cloud architecture, and modern integration patterns.
Experience working with geographically distributed engineering teams.
Experience in government technology, property tax, assessment, financial systems, or another complex regulated domain.
What Success Looks Like
Engineering teams deliver high-quality software with greater predictability.
Managers and technical leaders take ownership and make effective decisions without unnecessary escalation.
Risks and problems are surfaced early rather than hidden until they become emergencies.
Product, Professional Services, and Engineering operate as partners with clear ownership and expectations.
Technical debt and modernization are addressed deliberately alongside customer and product priorities.
AI becomes a practical part of how engineering teams work and produces measurable improvements.
Engineers are growing, engaged, and accountable.
Customers and internal stakeholders view Engineering as a responsive and trusted partner.
Salary range: $135,000 - $145,000 USD per year.
