SUMMARYPartner Engineering and Science, Inc. is seeking a creative, hands-on Director of Software Engineering to lead the teams, architecture and delivery of software that supports our professional services business. Partner develops key systems in-house, including applications that support resource management, report writing, workflow automation, internal Power BI analytics and external client dashboards.
This leader will set technical direction while staying close enough to the work to make sound architecture, engineering and AI decisions. The role requires someone who can translate business needs into practical technology, modernize legacy platforms without disrupting operations, and accelerate delivery in a fast-paced, AI-forward environment.
AI fluency is essential. The successful candidate should understand AI development best practices, large language models (LLMs), chatbot and agent frameworks, prompt engineering, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), responsible AI practices, and leading platforms such as Microsoft Copilot, Azure OpenAI and ChatGPT/OpenAI tools.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES- Engineering Leadership: Lead, coach, and develop software engineers; establish clear engineering standards, architecture principles, code-review practices, and delivery expectations.
- Product & Delivery Leadership: Partner with business leaders, product owners, data/analytics teams and end users to prioritize a development roadmap and move high-value projects from concept through deployment.
- Architecture & Modernization: Guide the evolution of legacy and modern applications, balancing reliability, security, scalability, maintainability and speed to value.
- AI-Enabled Development: Identify and deliver practical AI capabilities across workflows, reporting, knowledge retrieval, automation and client-facing experiences. Establish patterns for secure, reliable use of LLMs, RAG, copilots, chatbots and AI agents.
- Business Process Problem Solving: Understand how employees actually work and design software that simplifies workflows, eliminates repetitive steps and improves the user experience.
- Data & Analytics Integration: Ensure software platforms integrate effectively with enterprise data, APIs, relational databases, Power BI and internal/external dashboards.
- Engineering Operations: Strengthen testing, CI/CD, observability, documentation, release management, source control and DevSecOps practices.
- Security & Governance: Build security, privacy, access controls and responsible AI considerations into application design and development processes.
- Hands-On Technical Leadership: Review designs and code, troubleshoot complex issues, evaluate new technologies, and step into technical discussions when the team needs direction.
- Stakeholder Communication: Explain technical choices, risks, trade-offs and progress clearly to executives and non-technical business partners.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, ambiguous environment. Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities without explicit direction; excellent communication & critical thinking skills. Flexibility in work style
TECHNICAL EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE- Strong software engineering and architecture background in modern web and enterprise application development.
- Experience with Ruby and Ruby on Rails is highly valuable given Partner's existing application environment. Strong experience in one or more additional languages such as Python, C#, TypeScript/JavaScript or Java is preferred.
- Experience with modern front-end frameworks such as React, Vue or Angular; HTML and CSS fundamentals; and API development using REST and/or GraphQL.
- Strong knowledge of relational databases such as PostgreSQL, MySQL and/or Microsoft SQL Server, including data modeling and application performance.
- Cloud experience with Microsoft Azure and/or AWS; familiarity with containers and orchestration technologies such as Docker and Kubernetes.
- Experience with Git-based source control, automated testing, CI/CD pipelines and DevOps/DevSecOps practices using tools such as GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps or GitLab CI.
- Understanding of analytics and business intelligence environments, especially Microsoft Power BI, data integration and dashboard delivery.
- Should have an understanding of AI best practices, including LLMs, chatbot and agent frameworks, prompt engineering, RAG, embeddings/vector search, evaluation and monitoring, and responsible AI/security practices.
- Experience integrating with leading AI platforms and tools such as Azure OpenAI, OpenAI/ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and GitHub Copilot. Experience building AI-enabled applications, rather than only using AI productivity tools, is strongly preferred.
- Understanding of enterprise application security, authentication/authorization, secure coding, API security, data privacy and role-based access.
QUALIFICATIONS- 15+ years of progressive software engineering experience, including meaningful responsibility for production applications and architecture; 8+ years leading developers or engineering teams is preferred.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- Demonstrated success delivering complex software projects across multiple stakeholders, priorities and systems.
- Ability to make pragmatic build-versus-buy decisions and balance technical quality with business urgency.
- Must be able to work in an ambiguous, complex, fast-paced environment.
- Ability to work independently and manage multiple priorities without explicit direction.
- Excellent communication and critical thinking skills, with the ability to work effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Flexibility in work style and a willingness to shift between strategy, team leadership, problem-solving, and hands-on technical engagement as business needs change.
- Creative, curious, and action-oriented mindset with a strong interest in how AI can reshape software development and professional services workflows.
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE- A clear, prioritized engineering roadmap tied to measurable business outcomes.
- Faster and more predictable delivery without sacrificing security, quality or maintainability.
- Practical AI capabilities embedded into internal and client-facing workflows where they create real value.
- A strong engineering culture with clear standards, ownership, documentation, and accountability.
- Legacy systems modernized thoughtfully while critical business operations remain stable.
Compensation: Salary range: $175,000 - $215,000
The pay scale for this role considers a wide range of factors when making compensation decisions, including, but not limited to, skill sets, experience and training, licensure and certifications, and other business and organizational needs. Please note that the disclosed pay scale estimate has not been adjusted for the applicable geographic location where the position may be filled.
You may also be eligible to participate in a discretionary incentive bonus program which is dependent on various factors, including, but not limited to, individual and organizational performance.
Benefits: Competitive benefits package including health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, vacation and sick time, and a 401(k) plan with a company match.
