Distinguished Engineer, Developer Experience

Ladders; United States; Remote; USD 175,000 - 335,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Paid time off

Retirement savings options

Well-being programs

Job summary

Ladders is seeking a Distinguished Engineer, Developer Experience to shape architecture and long-term direction of developer experience platforms across a large enterprise. This senior role partners with engineering and platform leadership to improve how developers build, deploy, and operate software at scale with emphasis on AI-enabled development, observability, and open source strategies.

The position requires broad technical credibility and the ability to guide strategy across organizational

Qualifications

• 12+ years of software engineering with senior leadership.
• Experience in large-scale enterprise environments (10,000+ engineers).
• Strong ability to influence architecture and strategy across org boundaries.
• Active engagement in open source communities or leadership roles.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills.

Responsibilities

• Define architecture and standards for developer experience platforms as escalation point.
• Align platform investments with engineering leadership and platform teams.
• Influence AI, observability, and interoperability decisions for the platform.
• Lead AI-enabled software development lifecycle practices and promote tool adoption.
• Shape AI-driven software development across teams.
• Champion open source strategy and OSS component opportunities.
• Drive evolution of platforms toward AI-driven and edge-enabled solutions.

Skills

Software leadership

Architectural influence

Open source leadership

Stakeholder management

Communication

AI-enabled development

Tools

Kubernetes

CI/CD

Cloud-native

Job description

For our client, we are seeking a Distinguished Engineer, Developer Experience to join the team of a leader in the Healthcare space.

This senior technical leadership role will shape the architecture, standards, and long-term direction of developer experience platforms across a large enterprise environment. The position will partner closely with engineering and platform leadership to improve how developers build, deploy, and operate software at scale. It will also influence the adoption of AI-enabled development practices, observability, interoperability, and open source strategies that strengthen the software delivery ecosystem.

The role requires broad technical credibility and the ability to guide strategy across organizational boundaries while serving as a key escalation point for platform decisions.

Location: Remote - US based candidates only, no visa sponsorship available

Compensation: $175,100 – $334,750 annually

Responsibilities

• Define technical architecture and standards for developer experience platforms, serving as the highest escalation point.
• Align internal developer platform investments with engineering leadership and platform teams.
• Influence architectural decisions related to AI, observability, and platform interoperability.
• Lead the strategy for AI-enabled software development lifecycle practices and promote adoption of AI tools.
• Shape how AI transforms software development processes across teams.
• Champion open source strategy and identify opportunities for open sourcing components.
• Drive evolution of platforms toward AI-driven and edge-enabled solutions.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of software engineering experience with significant technical leadership roles at the Principal, Staff+, or Distinguished Engineer level.
• Experience in large-scale enterprise environments supporting organizations with 10,000+ engineers.
• Deep hands-on skills with Kubernetes-based infrastructure, cloud-native technologies, and CI/CD ecosystems.
• Strong understanding of AI-assisted software development practices and tooling.
• Proven ability to influence architecture and technical strategies across organization boundaries without direct authority.
• Active engagement and credibility in open source communities through contributions and leadership.
• Exceptional communication and stakeholder management skills.

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Paid time off and wellness programs.
• Retirement savings options to support long-term financial security.
• Support for physical, emotional, and financial well-being of employees and their families.

Our client is an equal opportunity employer.

We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet every qualification—your background could be exactly what this team needs.