Manager, Software Engineer

Western Governors University; Raleigh (NC); On-site; USD 152,000 - 251,000; Full time

Job summary

Western Governors University in Raleigh, NC is seeking a Software Engineering Manager to provide technical leadership, vision, and day-to-day management for a team building enterprise Java web applications. You will translate business needs into roadmaps and mentor engineers in Agile practices and modern engineering.

This role requires 5 days per week in the office, collaboration with stakeholders, and hands-on development alongside management duties.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated leadership of software engineering teams and performance management.
• Ability to translate business goals into measurable technology roadmaps.
• Experience with enterprise Java web applications and modern front-end tech.
• Strong communication with technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a software engineering team delivering enterprise-grade Java apps.
• Define product/feature roadmaps and manage day-to-day team operations.
• Coordinate resource planning and project scheduling using Agile/Scrum.
• Partner with engineers to set measurable goals and architectural direction.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure timely delivery of solutions.

Skills

People leadership

Stakeholder comms

Agile/Scrum

Java enterprise apps

REST/SOAP

AWS

CI/CD

Frontend frameworks

Architecture

Documentation

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/IT

Equivalent professional experience

Tools

Java

React/Angular

Kafka

REST API development

CI/CD pipelines

AWS services

Job description

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Grade: Management Technical 714

Pay Range: $151,800.00 - $250,500.00

Job Description

The Software Engineering Manager will provide technical leadership, vision, direction, and mentoring for the software engineering team. This individual will manage a team of personnel who design, develop, and support applications to meet business requirements. The Software Engineering Manager will deliver product and feature roadmaps and provide overall leadership and day-to-day management for a team of software development professionals. Additionally, they will provide resource planning and project scheduling using Agile/Scrum software development methodologies.

This is a full-time, in-office position requiring 5 days per week in

Raleigh, NC. Designed to foster the collaboration and connection that fuel our best work.

What You'll Bring

Leadership & Collaboration

• Demonstrated people leadership and performance management experience, including coaching, feedback, team development, and employee reviews.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Proven ability to partner with engineers to define and track clear, measurable goals.
• Ability to operate effectively in both self-directed and highly collaborative Agile environments.

Technical Expertise

• Strong experience designing, building, and maintaining enterprise-grade Java-based web applications.
• Ability to translate complex technical requirements into functional, scalable solutions.
• Strong understanding of application architecture and integration patterns.
• Experience developing and consuming REST and SOAP web services.
• Proficiency with web technologies including XML and HTML.
• Experience with modern front-end frameworks such as React or Angular.
• Legacy System Integration and modernization efforts
• Document management systems.

Cloud & Modern Engineering Practices

• Hands-on experience with AWS services, including Lambda, EC2, API Gateway, and EKS.
• Experience operating in a CI/CD environment with automated build, test, and deployment pipelines.
• Experience designing and implementing event-driven architectures using technologies such as Kafka.
• Deep understanding of Agile methodologies, including Scrum and Test-Driven Development (TDD).

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• 5+ years of enterprise-level Java application development experience.
• 2+ years of experience leading software engineering teams.
• Experience serving as both a hands-on developer and a people manager.

Preferred Qualifications

• Identity management systems (IDM/OSSO).
• Student Information Systems (SIS).
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms.

Why You'll Love This Opportunity

• You’ll have the opportunity to lead and develop engineering talent while remaining close to the technology. This role offers the chance to build and enhance enterprise-scale applications. All while partnering with stakeholders to deliver solutions that drive meaningful business impact. You’ll also play a key role in influencing architecture decisions and shaping the technical direction of enterprise platforms, helping drive innovation, scalability, and long-term engineering excellence across the organization.

Disclaimer

• This position description outlines the primary duties, responsibilities, requirements, and working conditions of the role. Management reserves the right to modify responsibilities as needed to meet organizational needs. This position requires occasional travel of up 20%, including attendance at designated company summits, typically one to two times per year.

Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at [e-mail].

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.