Dir. Software Engineering

UKG; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

UKG is seeking an experienced Software Architect to design scalable, secure systems handling sensitive data. You will lead architecture decisions, review code, and collaborate with product, data science, and design teams to translate strategy into an actionable roadmap.

You will be hands-on, maintaining high technical standards, driving performance and reliability, and advocating best practices across CI/CD, security, and accessibility. A strong leadership track record is required.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in software development with leadership and people management experience.
• Proven track record delivering large-scale, complex software projects.
• Deep expertise in programming languages such as C, C++, C#, .NET, Python, Java, or JavaScript.
• Extensive experience with software architecture and design patterns.
• Strong understanding of cloud technologies and DevOps principles.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills with the ability to influence and drive change.
• Familiarity with AI-powered development at enterprise scale.
• Experience with cloud platforms like Azure, AWS, or GCP and CI/CD pipelines.
• Commitment to diversity, inclusion initiatives and accessible technologies.

Responsibilities

• Architect scalable, secure systems handling sensitive data with strict access controls and audit trails.
• Collaborate with architecture, product, data science, and design teams to deliver core platform services and an agreed roadmap.
• Be hands-on with code while maintaining high technical standards and participating in design decisions, code reviews, and optimization.
• Ensure performance, scalability, and reliability in complex software systems and applications.
• Enforce engineering best practices (documentation, automation, security principles, leverage CoPilot) and guide the team’s technical decisions.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

AI development awareness

Code reviews

Hands-on coding

Security principles

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Master's degree

PhD in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Azure

AWS

GCP

CI/CD tools

Automation tools

Job description

Architect scalable, secure systems capable of handling sensitive customer data with strict access controls and audit trails. Collaborate with architect, product, data science, and design teams to deliver core platform and services. Translating strategy into tactical execution by creating and managing an agreed‑upon roadmap. Be hands‑on with code, maintaining high technical standards and actively participating in design and architecture decisions, code reviews, and helping engineers optimize their code. Ensure that high standards of performance, scalability, and reliability are maintained when architecting, designing, and developing complex software systems and applications. Ensure accountability for the team's technical decisions and enforce engineering best practices (e.g., documentation, automation, code management, security principles, leverage CoPilot). Understand CI/CD pipelines from build, test, to deploy phases.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience. 8+ years of experience in software development, with 3+ years in a technical leadership role and 2+ years in a people management role. Proven track record of leading and delivering large-scale, complex software projects. Deep expertise in one or more programming languages such as C, C++, C#, .NET, Python, Java, or JavaScript. Extensive experience with software architecture and design patterns. Strong understanding of cloud technologies and DevOps principles. Excellent communication and leadership skills, with a demonstrated ability to influence and drive change. Familiarity with AI powered development at enterprise scale. Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field. Experience with cloud platforms like Azure, AWS, or GCP. Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and automation tools. Demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion initiatives. Familiarity with developing accessible technologies.