Director, Engineering Tech Lead

McDonald's; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 168,350 - 218,860; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and welfare benefits

401(k) plan

Flexible working options

Job summary

A leading global restaurant company is seeking a Director of Engineering Tech Lead based in Chicago. You will be responsible for leading teams to deliver mobile applications and backend services, defining technology strategy, and ensuring high performance and security of systems. The ideal candidate has over 10 years of experience in software engineering with a strong background in mobile and backend technologies, and a passion for mentoring teams.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of dynamic software engineering experience, including leadership of mobile (iOS/Android) and backend engineering teams.
• Proven success in leading large-scale mobile apps with millions of active users.
• Strong expertise in modern mobile frameworks and backend technologies.

Responsibilities

• Lead teams delivering iOS/Android applications and core services.
• Define long-term technology strategy for mobile platforms.
• Champion best practices for code quality, CI/CD, and performance monitoring.

Skills

Leadership of mobile teams

Backend service architecture

Agile software development

CI/CD pipelines

Excellent communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Swift

Kotlin

React Native/Flutter

Microservices

Cloud-native technologies

Job description

Director, Engineering Tech Lead

Join to apply for the Director, Engineering Tech Lead role at McDonald’s.

Department Overview

McDonald’s growth strategy, Accelerating the Arches, encompasses all aspects of our business as the leading global omni‑channel restaurant brand. As the consumer landscape shifts we are using our competitive advantages to further strengthen our brand. One of our core growth strategies is to Double Down on the 3Ds (Delivery, Digital and Drive Thru). McDonald’s will accelerate technology innovation so 65M+ customers a day will experience a fast, easy experience, whether at one of our 25,000 and growing Drive‑thrus, through McDelivery, dine‑in or takeaway.

McDonald’s Global Technology is here to power tomorrow’s feel‑good moments. That’s why you’ll find us at the forefront of transformative technology, exploring new and innovative ways to serve our millions of customers and spread happiness one delicious Hot Fudge Sundae‑dipped fry at a time. Using AI, robotics and emerging tech, we’re digitizing the Golden Arches. Combine that with our unparalleled global scale, and we’re reshaping all areas of the business, industry and every community that is home to a McDonald’s restaurant. We face complex tech challenges every day. But that’s where our diverse and talented teams come in. They’re made up of the best and brightest from all over the globe, and they thrive in the space where feel‑good meets fast‑paced.

Team Overview

The Customer Technology team develops digital experiences and global technology platforms that delight our customers and enable them to order on their terms—seamlessly, effectively, and conveniently across mobile, web and future channels.

As Director of Engineering focused on Mobile & back‑end services, you’ll lead the engineering teams responsible for building and scaling McDonald’s global mobile applications (iOS and Android) and the back‑end services that power them. These apps represent one of the largest digital consumer platforms in the world, enabling millions of transactions and interactions daily across loyalty, ordering, personalization, and payments.

You will set the technical strategy for our mobile engineering organization, ensuring world‑class app performance, reliability, and user experience. In parallel, you’ll oversee the evolution of back‑end microservices and APIs that deliver secure, scalable, and reusable capabilities across our digital ecosystem. Working in close partnership with product, UX, architecture, and infrastructure leaders, you’ll ensure that McDonald’s mobile apps and services not only meet today’s needs but also scale for the future of customer engagement.

This leader will play a key role in driving engineering excellence, modernization, and innovation across both mobile and services platforms. With a focus on velocity, quality, and scalability, you will build high‑performing teams that deliver frictionless, engaging, and reliable experiences to customers worldwide.

Responsibilities and Accountabilities

• Lead engineering across mobile and backend services: Lead teams delivering iOS/Android applications and the core services that power global ordering, loyalty, personalization, and payments.
• Set vision and strategy: Define the long‑term technology strategy for mobile platforms and services, ensuring scalability, reliability, and modernization of core systems.
• Drive engineering excellence: Champion standard methodologies for code quality, app store compliance, CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, observability, and performance monitoring.
• Partner with product and design: Collaborate closely with product management and UX teams to build user experiences that are seamless, accessible, and engaging.
• Strengthen backend foundation: Supervise design and implementation of APIs, services, and data integrations that enable mobile and other digital channels.
• Grow and mentor talent: Build and lead a high‑performing engineering organization, developing leaders and fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and technical craftsmanship.
• Ensure security and compliance: Drive alignment to global security standards (e.g., PCI‑DSS, GDPR) across both apps and services.
• Collaborate globally: Work with multi‑functional partners and market teams worldwide to deliver solutions at McDonald’s scale.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of dynamic software engineering experience, including leadership of mobile (iOS/Android) and backend engineering teams.
• Shown success leading large‑scale mobile apps with millions of active users and complex backend service ecosystems.
• Strong expertise in modern mobile frameworks (Swift, Kotlin, React Native/Flutter optional) and backend technologies (microservices, APIs, cloud‑native).
• Experience leading Agile/Lean software development with distributed teams.
• Track record of building high‑performing teams, mentoring engineering leaders, and fostering career growth.
• Strong understanding of CI/CD pipelines, app release processes, mobile observability, and backend reliability engineering.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical topics to executive and business audiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field.
• Experience with consumer‑facing apps in high‑scale industries (QSR, retail, e‑commerce, or adjacent).
• Familiarity with personalization, loyalty, and payments systems at scale.
• Background in cloud‑native services and modern DevOps practices.

Compensation

Bonus Eligible: Yes

Long‑Term Incentive: Yes

Benefits Eligible: Yes

Salary Range

The expected salary range for this role is $168,350.00 - $218,860.00 per year. The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we may also consider your experience, and other job‑related factors.

Additional Information

Benefits eligible: This position offers health and welfare benefits, a 401(k) plan, adoption assistance program, educational assistance program, flexible ways of working, and time off policies (including sick leave, parental leave, and vacation/PTO). Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on job classification and length of employment.

Bonus eligible: This position is eligible for a bonus, calculated based on individual and company performance.

Long term Incentive eligible: This position is eligible for stock or other equity grants pursuant to McDonald’s long‑term incentive plan.

McDonald’s is an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our workforce. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel‑good moments for everyone. McDonald’s provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities as part of the application or hiring process or to perform the essential functions of their job. If you need assistance accessing or reading this job posting or otherwise feel you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please contact [e-mail]. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case‑by‑case basis.

McDonald’s provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, age, disability status, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, protected military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

Nothing in this job posting or description should be construed as an offer or guarantee of employment.

Seniority Level

Director

Employment Type

Full‑time

Job Function

Information Technology

Industries

Restaurants