Director of Software Engineering (Federal Health)

Commence; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Commence is seeking a Director of Software Engineering to lead the go-forward technology platforms across federal health IT and commercial healthcare markets. This hands-on leadership role owns engineering execution, technical quality, and team health.

You will shape platform design, enforce SDLC standards, and drive delivery velocity while balancing roadmap commitments. The role requires broad technical influence, regulatory awareness, and the ability to mentor leaders across multiple teams.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of software engineering with 5+ years leading engineering teams.
• Experience leading organizations of 15+ across multiple workstreams.
• Hands-on in cloud-native development and architectural tradeoffs.
• Experience in regulated environments with security/compliance requirements.
• Proficient in Agile/SAFe and Jira/Confluence tooling.
• Strong hiring, coaching, and retention track record.
• Excellent written and verbal communication with executives.

Responsibilities

• Lead multi-team engineering organization across platform development, program build, production support, and applied AI.
• Own engineering execution and delivery outcomes for the platform portfolio.
• Refine and enforce engineering standards across SDLC, testing, releases, and security.
• Operate capacity and allocation across work modes to balance roadmap and production work.
• Partner with Technical Delivery and Product on roadmap intake and prioritization.
• Collaborate with architects on platform design direction and governance.
• Drive continuous improvement in throughput and predictability.

Skills

Leadership

Cloud-native

Communication

Agile/SAFe expertise

Hiring mentoring

Regulated environment experience

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related

Tools

Jira

Confluence

Job description

All Jobs > Director of Software Engineering (Federal Health)

Director of Software Engineering (Federal Health)

Fully Remote • Information Technology

Full-time

Description

At Commence, we’re the start of a new age of data-centric transformation, elevating health outcomes and powering better, more efficient process to program and patient health. We combine quality data-driven solutions that fuel answers, technology that advances performance, and clinical expertise that builds trust to create a more efficient path to quality care.

With human-centered, healthcare-relevant, and value-based solutions, we create new possibilities with data. We provide proof beyond the concept and performance beyond the scope with a focus on efficiencies that transform the lives of those we serve. With a culture driven by purpose, straightforward communication and clinical domain expertise, Commence cuts straight to better care.?

Requirements

Commence is seeking a Director of Software Engineering to lead the teams building our go-forward technology platforms across federal health IT and commercial healthcare markets. This role owns engineering execution, technical quality, and team health.

The Director of Software Engineering is accountable for how engineering work gets planned, sequenced, and delivered, and for building an organization that can scale as the customer base grows. This is a hands-on leadership role. The Director is expected to stay close enough to the technology to make sound architectural tradeoffs, review designs, and hold a high bar on engineering quality, while leading people and improving how the organization operates.

• Lead and develop a multi-team engineering organization across platform development, program build, production support, and applied AI, including hiring, coaching, performance management, and career development for team leads and individual contributors.
• Own engineering execution and delivery outcomes for the platform portfolio, including velocity, quality, technical debt posture, and the balance between roadmap work and program commitments.
• Refine and enforce engineering standards and practice across teams: SDLC, code review, testing strategy, release management, secure development, and documentation.
• Operate a capacity and allocation model across multiple work modes, protecting platform roadmap capacity while meeting program and production support demand.
• Partner with Technical Delivery leadership on resource allocation for program work, and with Technical Product on roadmap intake, sequencing, and prioritization.
• Partner with the Lead Software Architect and Chief Architect on platform design direction, standards governance, and technical feasibility of commitments made during pursuits.
• Drive continuous improvement in engineering throughput and predictability, using delivery metrics to identify constraints.
• Champion configuration over customization in platform design, ensuring customer specific needs are met through configuration wherever possible and that genuine platform gaps are surfaced into the roadmap.
• Partner with DevSecOps, Infrastructure, and Security to ensure engineering practice meets ATO, FISMA, and applicable compliance obligations without becoming a delivery bottleneck.
• Contribute engineering input to capture and pursuit activity as needed, in coordination with the Chief Architect.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years leading engineering teams, with at least 2 years managing managers or team leads.
• Demonstrated experience leading engineering organizations of 15 or more across multiple concurrent workstreams.
• Hands on background in modern cloud native application development; able to review designs and make architectural tradeoffs credibly.
• Experience operating in a regulated environment with formal security and compliance requirements.
• Experience with Agile or SAFe delivery and with Atlassian Jira and Confluence or equivalent tooling.
• Track record of hiring, developing, and retaining strong engineers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including the ability to explain engineering tradeoffs to non technical executives.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related technical field; equivalent experience considered.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a public trust government clearance.
• Must physically have lived in the United States for a cumulative total of at least three of the past five years.

Preferred Qualifications

• Federal health program experience, including CMS, VA, or DHA.
• Working knowledge of federal compliance frameworks, including FISMA, IL4+, and CMMC.
• Experience with multi tenant SaaS or configurable platform architecture serving multiple customers from a shared codebase.
• Applied AI/ML experience within enterprise architectures.
• Familiarity with healthcare data standards, including HL7 FHIR, X12, ICD-10, and CPT.

Work Environment/Physical Demands

The work environment and physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

This is a remote position. Candidates must be able to sit, read, work on a computer, and watch a computer screen for extended periods of time. Occasionally required to stand, walk, use hands and fingers, kneel or crouch.

Commence is an equal employment opportunity employer. All personnel processes are merit-based and applied without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, disability, national or ethnic origin, military and veteran status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Commence is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants, including individuals with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application process due to a disability, please contact Human Resources at [phone] or [e-mail].