Director of Software Engineering - AI Platform Leader

KinderCare; Beaverton (OR); Remote; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discounted child care

Medical, dental, and vision benefits

Employee assistance programs

Health and wellness programs, PTO

Job summary

KinderCare Learning Companies is seeking a Director of Software Engineering to lead architectural strategy and enterprise platforms. The role partners with Product, Quality Engineering, Portfolio, and Infrastructure to deliver mission-critical applications for families and centers nationwide.

The successful candidate will drive modern AI-assisted engineering practices, scale teams across on-share and offshore resources, and create measurable improvements in delivery velocity and quality.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in software development, with 5+ years in a leadership role.
• Experience managing software architects and developing architectural talent.
• Hands-on experience with modern AI development tools and improving throughput via AI tooling.
• Experience delivering customer websites, applications, and services including payment solutions.
• Strong technical background in architecture, design patterns, and development methodologies.
• Experience delivering Agile across multiple platforms and product teams.
• Experience balancing blended contract and full-time staff and managing vendor relationships.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

Responsibilities

• Create a vision and strategy for KinderCare’s Software Engineering capability with a maturity plan and timeline.
• Lead development and delivery of high‑quality software across multiple platforms.
• Develop managers, engineers, architects, and cross‑functional leaders across distributed teams.
• Improve throughput and productivity through AI tooling and modern practices.
• Establish and govern architectural direction and technical roadmaps.
• Balance blended workforce to optimize delivery capacity and knowledge continuity.
• Collaborate with Product Management to align with business goals and priorities.
• Ensure timely, secure, high‑quality delivery with Quality Engineering and Infrastructure teams.
• Set quarterly objectives and key results aligned with technology strategy.
• Evangelize the Discovery-to-Delivery framework and report progress to leadership.

Skills

Leadership

Architectural leadership

AI tooling

Communication

Agile delivery

Problem solving

Multitasking

Vendor management

Education

Bachelor's degree in computer science, software engineering, or related field

Tools

AI coding assistants

Agentic development workflows

Job description

KinderCare Learning Companies is seeking a Director of Software Engineering to lead architectural strategy and enterprise platforms. The role partners with Product, Quality Engineering, Portfolio, and Infrastructure to deliver mission-critical applications for families and centers nationwide.

The successful candidate will drive modern AI-assisted engineering practices, scale teams across on-share and offshore resources, and create measurable improvements in delivery velocity and quality.