Tech Lead Software Engineer Global - Observability Accelerators & AI

Southwest Airlines; India; On-site; INR 5,000,000 - 7,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Southwest Airlines in India is seeking a Tech Lead Software Engineer – Observability Accelerators & AI to set architecture and platform strategy, mentor engineers, and lead design reviews for production‑grade software on AWS.

You will build resilient AWS solutions using Lambda, Step Functions, EventBridge, SQS, and API Gateway, supported by Infrastructure as Code and CI/CD, and apply OpenTelemetry with AI-enabled workflows to improve reliability.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems or related field.
• Expert level experience, expansive knowledge in software engineering and 8–10 years of relevant work experience.
• Experience with AWS Lambda, Step Functions, EventBridge, SQS, API Gateway, Terraform, CloudFormation, CI/CD, Python, Grafana, CloudWatch, Prometheus, OpenTelemetry; AI workflows, prompts and agents.

Responsibilities

• Provide accurate development estimates for feasibility assessments and planned development activities.
• Create, maintain, review and approve application designs in collaboration with Solution Architects and shared services Teams.
• Develop, maintain, and review software with a focus on quality and maintainability.
• Develop, maintain, review, and execute unit, functional, and integration tests with a focus on automation and test-driven development.
• Provide technical oversight for performance testing, ensuring plan and outcomes align to expected non-functional requirements.
• Plan and oversee application deployment activities in non-production and production environments.
• Investigate new technologies that could improve applications and development activities.
• Mentor and coach Development Team on architecture, design, development, and operations topics.
• Evaluate code to ensure validity, proper structure, and compatibility across browsers/devices/OS.

Skills

Software architecture

Team leadership

Observability

Cloud computing

OpenTelemetry

AI workflows

Mentoring

Python

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems or related field

Tools

AWS Lambda

Step Functions

EventBridge

SQS

API Gateway

Terraform

CloudFormation

CI/CD

Python

Grafana

CloudWatch

Prometheus

OpenTelemetry

Job description

Department:

Technology

Our Company Promise

We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.

Job Description:

About Us

At Southwest Airlines, we believe that flying should feel like freedom. For over 50 years,we’vebeen connecting people to what matters most with low fares, legendary hospitality, and a heart for service. Our culture is built on the principles offun,friendliness, andfamily, making us one of the most admired workplaces in the world.

Ifyou’repassionate about making a difference, love working in a fast-paced environment, and want to help millions of travelers reach their destinations with a smile, Southwest Airlines is the place for you. Here, your career can truly takeflight.

Job Summary

• Southwest’s Observability Accelerators & AI Pod builds cloud-native observability and AI-powered operations capabilities for enterprise systems and AI agents. The team delivers reusable OpenTelemetry patterns, dashboard and migration tooling, telemetry pipelines, anomaly detection, AI-assisted investigation, and operational intelligence designed to reduce Mean Time to Recover and improve reliability.
• As Tech Lead Software Engineer – Observability Accelerators & AI, you’ll set architecture and platform strategy while mentoring engineers and leading design reviews. You’ll build production-grade software and resilient AWS solutions using services such as Lambda, Step Functions, EventBridge, SQS, and API Gateway, supported by repeatable Infrastructure as Code and CI/CD. You’ll apply deep expertise in logs, metrics, traces, Grafana, CloudWatch, Prometheus, and OpenTelemetry while integrating AI-enabled workflows, prompts, skills, or agents that improve operational efficiency.
• Lead and motivate a Team of developers in the planning, delivery, and operation of highly reliable software. Accountable for the technical quality of the software that the Development Team produces and closely collaborates with the Business and other Stakeholders to ensure software meets functional and non-functional expectations. Act as an interface between the Development Team and Leadership, ensuring capacity and skillsets are aligned to meet ongoing delivery expectations. Time is allocated across Project Leadership, Technical Leadership/Mentoring, and Software Development/System Engineering.

Responsibilities

• Provide accurate development estimates in support of feasibility assessments and planned development activities
• Create, maintain, review and approve application designs in collaboration with Solution Architects and shared services Teams, ensuring alignment to the appropriate solution architectures and taking tradeoffs into account
• Develop, maintain, and review software with a focus on quality and maintainability
• Develop, maintain, review, and execute unit, functional, and integration tests with a focus on automation and test-driven development
• Provide technical oversight for performance testing, ensuring plan and outcomes align to expected non-functional requirements
• Plan and oversee application deployment activities and sequencing in non-production and production environments
• Investigate new technologies that could improve the applications and development activities
• Identify and resolve technical debt as appropriate, weighing the development effort against the value returned
• Mentor and coach Development Team on relevant architecture, design, development, and operations topics
• Evaluate code to ensure that it is valid, is properly structured, meets industry standards, and is compatible with browsers, devices, or operating systems
• May perform other job duties as directed by Employee’s Leaders

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Advanced knowledge of software development methodologies, practices, concepts, and technologies
• Advanced knowledge of at least one programming language and at least general knowledge of one or more additional programming languages
• Knowledge of project management methodology and principles
• Ability to demonstrate strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with a proactive mindset to get ahead of issues
• Skilled in communication with ability to articulate a clear direction and priorities on ideas, approaches, concepts, options, risks, impacts, and recommendations to technical, non-technical, and Leadership audiences with ability to adapt the message accordingly
• Ability to articulate the technical implementation and how it provides business value
• Ability to lead ideation, presentation, and group-thinking sessions
• Ability to influence effectively without authority up through Senior Leadership levels to achieve desired business outcomes
• Ability to lead multiple efforts concurrently, whether administrative or project related, while maintaining a successful level of completion in their own work
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, Team-based, Customer service-oriented environment

Education

• Required: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems or related field and/or equivalent formal training

Experience

• Required: Expert level experience, expansive and far reaching knowledge in software engineering
• 8-10 years of relevant work-related experience
• AWS Lambda; Step Functions; EventBridge; SQS; API Gateway; Terraform; CloudFormation; CI/CD; Python; Grafana; CloudWatch; Prometheus; OpenTelemetry; AI workflows, prompts and agents
• Preferred:

Other Qualifications

• Must meet confidentiality expectations as to confidential, proprietary and sensitive Company information
• Ability to work extended hours as needed

Southwest Airlines is an Equal Opportunity Employer.