ServiceNow

Director, Software Engineering Management

ServiceNow • $221K — $387K *
Santa Clara, CA 95051In-Person
Consumer Technology
11 - 15 years of experience
Today
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Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 15+ years in engineering, with 7+ years managing teams for scalable products.
  • Experience in building and operating large-scale distributed systems or cloud-scale infrastructure.
  • Expertise in system design focused on scale, reliability, and security.
  • Proven track record in defining technical direction and translating strategy into concrete engineering plans.
  • Success in cultivating a high-performance culture without compromising team wellbeing.
  • Ability to lead with authority and technical credibility across various teams.
  • Strong judgment balancing architecture, execution, and business priorities.
  • Experience with AI-powered products and integrating AI into the software development lifecycle.

Responsibilities

  • Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to align on product roadmap and release strategy.
  • Set technical strategy and ensure high standards for quality and reliability.
  • Recruit, mentor, and develop engineering talent to build high-performing teams.
  • Lead transformation toward AI-native product capabilities that enhance customer value.
  • Establish architectural patterns and documentation to streamline decision-making.
  • Share knowledge and accelerate the adoption of successful engineering practices across the organization.

Benefits

  • Significant autonomy in defining technical direction and team-building decisions.
  • Opportunity to influence product and engineering culture from the ground up.
  • Access to modern, cloud-native tools and flexibility in engineering approaches.
  • Immediate impact on product development with a near-term launch target.
  • Balance of startup speed and ownership with the resources of a large organization such as ServiceNow.
  • Collaboration with a senior technical team to craft pioneering AI and automation solutions.
Full Job Description
Job Description

The engineering organization is a dynamic group of builders, thinkers, and problem-solvers focused on delivering scalable, AI-powered software products that improve how IT organizations function and deliver value. We value clean architecture, intuitive experiences, operational excellence, and a culture of continuous improvement. Every engineer plays an important role in shaping the quality, reliability, and long-term success of our products.

About the Team

You'll join a small, founding engineering team building a new product from the ground up with the mandate and latitude to make foundational decisions on architecture, stack, and engineering practices. This is a rare setup: startup-level speed, ownership, and blank-canvas building, backed by the distribution, resources, and scale of ServiceNow. The team is still small and early-stage today, which means the Director hired into this role will have outsized influence over how the engineering org is shaped from here - team structure, technical standards, and culture included.

Responsibilities include:
  • Collaborate with stakeholders across Product, Design, Security, Operations, Sales, and Customer Success - aligning on roadmap and release readiness, meeting security and compliance requirements, and feeding field and customer signal back into engineering priorities.
  • Own technical strategy and delivery for your teams. Set architectural direction, hold the bar on quality and reliability, and stay close enough to the work to validate hypotheses through evidence, not theory.
  • Hire, coach, and develop engineers, tech leads, and managers. Build inclusive, high-performing teams with clear career paths and durable ownership.
  • Lead the evolution of current solutions toward AI-native capabilities, identifying where agentic patterns, data utilization, or autonomous workflows can unlock customer value, and translate those recommendations into staffed, executable work.
  • Establish architecture patterns, engineering standards, and operating rhythms specific to your problem domain. Document tradeoffs, rationale, and implementation guidance to help teams move faster and make consistent decisions.
  • Collaborate across the broader org to share learnings, validate approaches, and accelerate adoption of patterns that work.


Qualifications

To be successful in this role, you have:
  • 15+ years of related engineering experience, including 7+ years leading and managing engineering teams for a product at scale. A significant portion of the experience should be in startups building 0-1 products, taking them to market, and rapidly scaling users using PLG motions and experiments.
  • Strong experience building and operating large-scale distributed systems, enterprise platforms, workflow systems, data-intensive products, integration frameworks, or cloud-scale infrastructure.
  • Deep understanding of system design for scale, reliability, observability, fault tolerance, data quality, security, and production readiness.
  • Proven ability to define technical direction, influence architecture across teams, and translate ambiguous product strategy into executable engineering plans.
  • Demonstrated success in building a high performance culture within in a team of senior engineers without compromising wellbeing.
  • Ability to lead through formal authority and technical credibility alike, building alignment across peer engineering, Product, Design, Security, Operations, Sales, and Customer Success organizations.
  • Strong judgment in balancing long-term architecture with pragmatic execution, customer impact, engineering velocity, and business priorities.
  • Strong experience with AI-powered products, AI-assisted workflows, and the extensive use of AI in the SDLC.

Why Join Us
  • Join as a founding Director-level engineering leader on a net-new product, at a stage where product, team composition, and engineering culture are still being actively defined.
  • Operate with significant autonomy over technical direction and team-building decisions.
  • Build with modern, cloud-native tooling and patterns, unconstrained by existing platform conventions.
  • Work on a product with real urgency and a near-term launch target, where your decisions have immediate, visible impact rather than being one layer removed from outcomes.
  • Get the best of both worlds: the speed and ownership of an early-stage build, with the backing, resources, and distribution of ServiceNow.
  • Partner directly with a small, senior technical team to define how AI agents, automation, and human workflows come together with the freedom to make foundational calls that will shape the product for years.

For positions in this location, we offer a base pay of $221,200 - $387,100, plus equity (when applicable), variable/incentive compensation and benefits. Sales positions generally offer a competitive On Target Earnings (OTE) incentive compensation structure. Please note that the base pay shown is a guideline, and individual total compensation will vary based on factors such as qualifications, skill level, competencies, and work location. We also offer health plans, including flexible spending accounts, a 401(k) Plan with company match, ESPP, matching donations, a flexible time away plan and family leave programs. Compensation is based on the geographic location in which the role is located and is subject to change based on work location.

Additional Information

Work Personas

We approach our distributed world of work with flexibility and trust. Work personas (flexible, remote, or required in office) are categories that are assigned to ServiceNow employees depending on the nature of their work and their assigned work location. Learn more here. To determine eligibility for a work persona, ServiceNow may confirm the distance between your primary residence and the closest ServiceNow office using a third-party service.

About ServiceNow

ServiceNow provides cloud-based solutions that define, structure, manage, and automate services for enterprise operations in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and other countries. The company offers service management solutions, including incident, problem, change, request, and cost management as well as service catalogs; and IT, HR, facilities, and field service management solutions. It also provides IT operations management solutions covering service mapping, delivery, and assurance solutions; business management solutions such as financial management, project portfolio suite, vendor performance management, and performance analytics as well as governance, risk, and compliance; and application development services.

ServiceNow Careers

Join the dynamic team at ServiceNow, a global leader in digital workflow solutions, where innovation and leadership converge to shape the future of work. At ServiceNow, we offer more than just job opportunities; we provide a platform for professional growth and a chance to be part of a culture that values diversity, creativity, and continuous learning.

Work You’ll Do

Embark on a career journey with ServiceNow and contribute to the world’s leading enterprises' digital transformation. Our team is at the forefront of developing cutting-edge technologies that improve how people work. With ServiceNow, you will use your skills to impact businesses and industries profoundly, driving efficiency and innovation.

Join Our Market-Leading Team

ServiceNow is not just another technology company. We are a team that thrives on diversity and leadership, fostering an inclusive environment that promotes growth and development. Our commitment to diversity training ensures that every team member can achieve their potential.

Innovative Work

ServiceNow is home to more than 10,000 dedicated professionals who lead the charge in digital workflows and enterprise solutions. As part of our team, you will engage in projects that merge technology with practical applications, creating revolutionary products that advance how services are delivered and managed.

Career Development

At ServiceNow, your career trajectory is filled with boundless opportunities. We support your growth with robust training programs, leadership development courses, and access to global challenges. Whether you are looking for an internship, full-time position, or leadership role, ServiceNow equips you with the tools to excel.

Be Part of a Great Team

Working at ServiceNow means being part of a community that values teamwork and innovation. Our collaborative environment encourages networking and sharing ideas, making our workplace vibrant and dynamic. The benefits of joining ServiceNow extend beyond comprehensive health and wellness; they include fostering professional connections and friendships that last a lifetime.

Explore Job Opportunities and Internships

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a recent graduate, ServiceNow offers a range of employment options to suit your career goals. From internships that provide real-world experience to full-time positions that challenge you to leverage your expertise, we are committed to hiring the best talent.

Stay Connected

Join Our Team Search open positions that match your skills and interests. At ServiceNow, we look for passionate, curious, and solution-driven team players. Explore the possibilities that await you at a company that is committed to your professional success.

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ServiceNow Careers

Empowering professionals to achieve more, ServiceNow is where careers are future-proofed, and ambitions are realized. Join us in our journey of growth and innovation.
Learn more about ServiceNow
Size
16,881 employees
Market Cap
$76.5 billion
Industry
Information Technology
Net Income
$118.5 million
Founded
2004
5 Year Trend
+33.5%
Revenue
$4.5 billion
NASDAQ
NOW
* Ladders Estimates

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