The Director of Software Engineering provides strategic leadership for software engineering and solution architecture capabilities, supporting enterprise-wide digital products and platforms. This leader sets and upholds best practices for the architectural design, development, and support of our mission-critical applications and services-systems integral to several rapidly growing lines of business as we undertake a digital transformation of our field- and family-facing experience software.
The successful candidate is a highly collaborative servant leader who scales team impact through strong architectural foundations, modern AI-assisted engineering practices, and continuous process improvement. With a dedicated customer focus, this leader works closely with peers across Product Management, Quality Engineering, Portfolio, and Infrastructure/Operations to ensure the company's software products meet the needs of KinderCare's families and center staff.
Responsibilities:
• Create a clear vision and strategy for KinderCare's Software Engineering capability,
incorporating people, process, and technology to deliver a high-functioning capability with a maturity plan and timeline
• Lead the development and delivery of high-quality software solutions using sound engineering and architectural principles across multiple platforms, ensuring they meet business and customer requirements
• Develop managers, software engineers, architects, and cross-functional technical leaders across distributed teams, including on-shore and off-shore resources; build organizational capability through workforce planning, succession planning, talent development, and leadership coaching
• Improve team throughput and developer productivity through adoption of AI development tooling, modern engineering practices, and disciplined process improvement
• Establish, maintain, and govern the architectural direction and technical roadmap for the company's software products, keeping them current with emerging technologies and trends
• Balance a blended workforce of contract workers and full-time employees to optimize delivery capacity, cost, and knowledge continuity
• Work closely with Product Management and other stakeholders to understand their needs and ensure software products are aligned with business goals
• Partner closely with Quality Engineering, Portfolio, and Infrastructure/Operations to ensure software is delivered on time, securely, and to the highest quality standards
• Set quarterly team objectives and key results aligned with business priorities, technology strategy, and functional excellence, then ensure all team members are working toward those goals
• Ensure software development and architecture processes are efficient, effective, and scalable and evangelize KinderCare's Discovery to Delivery framework with the teams
• Communicate progress, risks, and opportunities effectively and promptly to senior leadership to enable fast decision-making and set clear expectations with stakeholders at all levels
• Participate in cross-functional technology leadership activities, including process definition, best practice definition, and strategic initiatives
• Provide customer-focused responsiveness to solving problems and incident management
• Cultivate an MVP-delivery mindset across all teams and individuals
Qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, or related field
• 10+ years of experience in software development, with a proven track record of delivering high-quality software products; 5+ years in a leadership role managing and developing teams of software engineers, both on- and off-shore
• Experience managing software architects and developing architectural talent
• Hands-on experience building software with modern AI development tools (AI coding assistants and agentic development workflows), and a track record of improving team throughput through AI tooling and process improvement
• Experience delivering high-quality customer websites, applications, and services, including payment solutions and financial transactional systems (billing, contracts, etc.)
• Strong technical background, with experience in software architecture, design patterns, and development methodologies
• Experience optimizing software engineering delivery in an Agile modality across multiple platforms and product teams
• Experience balancing a blended team of contract workers/full-time employees and managing vendor relationships for both individual contract engineers and managed software engineering services
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to work effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, with the ability to think creatively and strategically
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and complex projects in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
#LI-Remote
Our benefits meet you where you are. We're here to help our employees navigate the integration of work and life:
- Know your whole family is supported with discounted child care benefits.
- Breathe easy with medical, dental, and vision benefits for your family (and pets, too!).
- Feel supported in your mental health and personal growth with employee assistance programs.
- Feel great and thrive with access to health and wellness programs, paid time off and discounts for work necessities, such as cell phones.
- ... and much more.
We operate research-backed, accredited, and customizable programs in more than 2,000 sites and centers across 40 states and the District of Columbia. As we expand, we're matching the needs of more and more families, dynamic work environments, and diverse communities from coast to coast. Because we believe every family deserves access to high-quality child care, no matter who they are or where they live. Every day, you'll help bring this mission to life by building community and delivering exceptional experiences. And if you're anything like us, you'll come for the work, and stay for the people.
