Director of Engineering, PDLC Agents Platform (Hybrid - Seattle, WA)

Nordstrom, Inc.; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 299,000 - 365,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Vision

Dental

401k

PTO accruals

Life Insurance

Disability Insurance

Job summary

Nordstrom, Inc. seeks a Director of Engineering, PDLC Agents Platform, to lead strategy, development, and delivery of a multi‑agent platform guiding engineering teams from idea to shipped production features with guardrails and governance.

This leader will oversee agentic AI systems, vendor integrations, and end‑to‑end lifecycle policies. This hybrid Seattle‑based role requires 4 days in‑office and a strong track record building scalable, secure AI delivery platforms while mentoring senior

Qualifications

• 10+ years of software engineering experience with 5+ years in leadership roles in platform or AI engineering teams.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field; advanced degrees a plus.
• Strong background in agentic AI systems, multi‑agent orchestration, and context engineering.
• Experience designing policy‑as‑code controls in regulated or high‑stakes environments.

Responsibilities

• Define strategy and roadmap for the PDLC Agents Platform aligned to Nordstrom’s AI‑Native Operating Model.
• Lead development of the platform’s digital worker fleet and end‑to‑end delivery lifecycle.
• Own ship‑time policy gate to ensure compliance, instrumentation, and guardrails.
• Collaborate with Security, UX, Architecture, Data Science, Product, and runtime control‑plane teams.
• Drive adoption of MCP, A2A, and OTEL GenAI standards as the foundation of the platform.
• Build and mentor a high‑performing engineering team and develop leadership pipelines.
• Establish practices for scalable, secure, and responsible autonomy across the platform.
• Work with domain leaders to roll out AI‑Native squads with proper guardrails.

Skills

Software engineering leadership

Agentic AI systems

Platform development

Governance and policy‑as‑code

Cross‑functional collaboration

Education

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

Tools

MCP/A2A/OTEL GenAI

Job description

Job Description

At Nordstrom, we’re more than a luxury retailer – we’re a company built on a foundation of customer service, innovation, and a relentless commitment to delivering the best experiences for our customers. Technology is at the heart of our ability to create these experiences, and we’re on an exciting journey to leverage AI and agents to make those moments even more personalized, seamless, and impactful. We’re looking for a collaborative and forward‑thinking Director of Engineering, PDLC Agents Platform to lead the strategy, development, and delivery of Nordstrom’s agentic software delivery system — the platform that guides engineering teams from idea to shipped, production feature through named specialist digital worker agents (AI personas assigned to specific required gates in the delivery lifecycle, such as security, architecture, UX, process compliance, and SRE), persistent project memory, and enforced safety guardrails. This role sits at the center of Nordstrom’s transformation towards an AI‑Native Operating Model for its product development lifecycle. The role owns the multi‑agent platform that enables this transformation. The platform spans the full breadth of a complex agentic system including orchestration, CLI based UI, context engineering, cost management, observability, evaluations, governance, reporting and integration with 3P coding agents (e.g. Claude Code) and models. You’ll work closely with stakeholders across not just the central AI organization but all engineering teams across Nordstrom as well as all business and technical context owners for various domains. This is a highly technical leadership role where you’ll build technology and cultivate a culture of engineering rigor, safe experimentation, and continuous learning.

Experience with building agentic systems involving evaluations and context engineering is a requirement. This role is offered as hybrid in Seattle, WA. Candidates must be available to work in office at the Nordstrom corporate headquarters a minimum of 4 days/week to be considered for this position.

Day in the Life

• Set the Vision: Define the strategy and roadmap for the PDLC Agents Platform, aligned to Nordstrom’s AI‑Native Operating Model and broader business and technology goals.
• Build the Paved Road: Lead development of the platform’s digital worker (agent) fleet and the delivery lifecycle it enforces — project initialization, product design, development, ship and operate — so the compliant path is the fastest path.
• Make Shipping a Real Gate: Own the platform’s ship‑time policy gate so no agent or change ships unless it is registered, instrumented, guardrail‑wrapped, and eval‑backed.
• Collaborate Across Teams: Partner with Security, UX, Architecture, Data Science, Product, and the run‑time control‑plane team to define and enforce one policy‑as‑code spine — data classification (including PCI/PII boundaries), approved tools and models, and autonomy tiers — consistently at build time and run time.
• Lead with Standards: Drive adoption of open agent standards — MCP (Model Context Protocol), A2A (Agent‑to‑Agent), and OTEL GenAI tracing — as the platform’s framework‑agnostic foundation, so authoring stays open rather than locked to one vendor.
• Grow the Team: Build, mentor, and inspire a high‑performing engineering team, and build a succession and talent pipeline of engineering managers and senior engineers.
• Drive Operational Excellence: Establish best practices for the end‑to‑end agent lifecycle — build, ship, monitor, and retire — with an emphasis on scalability, security, and responsible autonomy.
• Partner on Rollout: Work with domain engineering and business leaders (Merchandising, Customer Experience, and other pilot domains) to roll out AI‑Native squads, confirm required guardrails run every cycle, and support teams as they progress up the autonomy “autopilot dial.”

Responsibilities

You own this if you have…

• 10+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 5 years in leadership roles, including experience leading platform, developer‑tools, or agentic/AI engineering teams.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field (advanced degrees are a plus).
• Have a strong technical background in agentic AI systems in production — coding agents, multi‑agent orchestration, context engineering and agentic evaluations.
• Understand build‑time versus run‑time governance trade‑offs, and have designed or enforced policy‑as‑code controls in a regulated or high‑stakes environment.
• Are a natural collaborator and communicator, able to translate complex technical concepts for a variety of audiences and build strong partnerships across Security, Data Science, and Product.
• Have a proven track record of hiring, mentoring, and growing engineering teams, with an ability to inspire and motivate others through a major platform migration.
• Are passionate about using AI and agents to solve meaningful problems and create exceptional, trustworthy customer experiences.

Preferred Qualifications

• Have working knowledge of agent standards and run‑time governance tooling: MCP, A2A, OTEL GenAI, agent identity/on‑behalf‑of (“OBO”) authorization, and AI gateway or observability platforms.
• Have experience in retail, e‑commerce, or other customer‑focused industries with PCI (Payment Card Industry) or PII (Personally Identifiable Information) data‑handling requirements.

Pay Range Details

The pay range(s) below has been provided in compliance with state specific laws. Pay ranges may be different for other locations. Pay offers are dependent on the location, as well as job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. $200,500.00 - $332,000.00 Annual

Benefits

• Medical/Vision
• Dental
• Retirement
• Paid Time Away
• Life Insurance
• Disability
• Merchandise Discount
• EAP Resources
• 401k
• Medical/Vision/Dental
• Life/Disability insurance options
• PTO accruals
• Holidays
• More

Benefits include 401k, medical/vision/dental/life/disability insurance options, PTO accruals, Holidays, and more. Eligibility requirements may apply based on location, job level, classification, and length of employment.

Additional Points

A few more important points... The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all‑inclusive. There may be additional duties, responsibilities and qualifications for this job.

For Los Angeles or San Francisco applicants: Nordstrom is required to inform you that we conduct background checks after conditional offer and consider qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with legal requirements per Los Angeles, Cal. Muni. Code 189.04 and the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. For additional state and location specific notices, please refer to the Legal Notices document within the FAQ section of the Nordstrom Careers site.

Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation should contact the nearest Nordstrom location, which can be identified at www.nordstrom.com. Please be mindful that there may be legal notices and requirements related to this job posting that are specific to your state. Review the Career Site FAQ’s for relevant information and guidelines.

About Us

We’re a fast‑moving fashion company that started as a shoe store in 1901. This heritage of service is the foundation we’re building on as we provide convenience and true connection for our customers. We empower our people to be innovative, creative and focused on providing the best service to our customers. Through it all, we remain committed to leaving the world better than we found it. Whether you’re a genius engineer, a phenomenal salesperson or a supply‑chain pro, we invite you to bring your unique talents and join our team. We reward great work, promote from within and celebrate diversity.

CUSTOMER OBSESSED

We strive to know our customers better than anyone else. We listen, anticipate, build trust and move with speed to deliver on their needs.

OWNERS AT HEART

We treat every interaction as an opportunity to make an impact and deliver excellence.

CURIOUS AND EVER CHANGING

We approach problems with curiosity and create solutions. We unlock potential to be bold, think big and inspire innovation.

HERE TO WIN

We’re committed to delivering results, both today and tomorrow. We win as a team by supporting and challenging one another to be better every day.

WE EXTEND OURSELVES

We treat each other with respect and kindness. We do the small things that make a big difference. We create a welcoming environment, helping people feel connected, valued and part of one community. Come on!

Join us!