Senior Software Engineer

Western Governors University; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 144,000 - 223,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses

Medical, dental, vision, telehealth

Tuition discount for employees

Paid time off and holidays

Parental leave

Job summary

Western Governors University is seeking an experienced senior software engineer to act as a technical leader for full-stack applications. You will design, build, and maintain scalable frontend, backend, and API solutions while ensuring quality, performance, and reliability across the stack.

You will mentor engineers, drive design discussions, and collaborate with product and design teams to deliver end-to-end solutions. AWS experience and a strong SDLC background are highly valued.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field
• 6+ years of experience building and delivering full-stack applications
• Experience developing web applications and APIs using modern programming languages (e.g., Java, Node.js, Python, JavaScript)
• Experience with frontend frameworks (e.g., Angular or similar)
• Experience working with service-based or modular architectures
• Experience contributing to or leading system design decisions
• Equivalent experience may substitute for formal education

Responsibilities

• Acts as a technical leader in software engineering, contributing to the design, development, and delivery of full-stack applications.
• Designs, builds, and maintains scalable solutions across frontend, backend, and APIs.
• Owns the quality, performance, and reliability of systems within its domain.
• Collaborates with product, design, and engineering teams to deliver end-to-end solutions.
• Works across multiple technologies and services, selecting the right tools and frameworks for each use case.
• Leads design discussions and code reviews, promoting best practices and maintainable solutions.
• Mentors engineers and contributes to overall team effectiveness.
• Identifies risks, dependencies, and technical challenges, and drives solutions proactively.
• Builds and integrates API-first services and web applications.
• Improves system performance, scalability, and user experience across the stack.
• Leads troubleshooting and resolution of production issues.
• Balances speed and quality using pragmatic engineering practices.
• Translates business and technical requirements into scalable, maintainable solutions.
• Drives continuous improvement in technical debt, tooling, and engineering practices.
• Adapts to new technologies, frameworks, and business priorities as needed.

Skills

Full-stack development

System design

Java

Node.js

Python

JavaScript

REST APIs

Cloud-native/AWS

SDLC

Mentoring engineers

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science/IT

Tools

Spring Boot

CI/CD pipelines

GitHub

JIRA

VS Code

IntelliJ

Dynatrace/CloudWatch

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: Technical 410

Pay Range: $143,700.00 - $222,700.00

Job Description

• Acts as a technical leader in software engineering, contributing to the design, development, and delivery of full-stack applications.
• Designs, builds, and maintains scalable solutions across frontend, backend, and APIs.
• Owns the quality, performance, and reliability of systems within its domain.
• Collaborates with product, design, and engineering teams to deliver end-to-end solutions.
• Works across multiple technologies and services, selecting the right tools and frameworks for each use case.
• Leads design discussions and code reviews, promoting best practices and maintainable solutions.
• Mentors engineers and contributes to overall team effectiveness.
• Identifies risks, dependencies, and technical challenges, and drives solutions proactively.
• Builds and integrates API-first services and web applications.
• Improves system performance, scalability, and user experience across the stack.
• Leads troubleshooting and resolution of production issues.
• Balances speed and quality using pragmatic engineering practices.
• Translates business and technical requirements into scalable, maintainable solutions.
• Drives continuous improvement in technical debt, tooling, and engineering practices.
• Adapts to new technologies, frameworks, and business priorities as needed.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong foundation in software development, system design, and scalable architecture.
• Experience building full-stack applications (frontend, backend, and APIs).
• Proficiency in modern programming languages such as Java, Node.js, Python, and JavaScript.
• Experience with frontend frameworks such as Angular (or similar frameworks).
• Strong understanding of API design and system integration (e.g., RESTful services).
• Ability to work across multiple languages and frameworks, selecting the right tools for the problem.
• Understanding of cloud-native development principles; AWS experience is a plus.
• Ability to design for scalability, performance, and reliability.
• Strong understanding of SDLC and modern development practices.
• Experience with observability practices (logging, monitoring, tracing).
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and influence technical direction.
• Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers and improve team performance.
• Strong ownership mindset with the ability to manage risk and dependencies.
• Ability to operate in ambiguous environments and adapt quickly to new challenges.

Job Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field
• 6+ years of experience building and delivering full-stack applications
• Experience developing web applications and APIs using modern programming languages (e.g., Java, Node.js, Python, JavaScript)
• Experience with frontend frameworks (e.g., Angular or similar)
• Experience working with service-based or modular architectures
• Experience contributing to or leading system design decisions
• Equivalent experience may substitute for formal education

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience working across multiple programming languages and frameworks in a full stack environment
• Experience with AWS or other cloud platforms
• Experience with backend frameworks such as Spring Boot or Node.js
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines and modern deployment practices
• Experience with observability tools (e.g., Dynatrace, CloudWatch)
• Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments
• Experience mentoring engineers or acting as a technical lead
• Experience with API design and system integration
• Familiarity with tools such as GitHub, JIRA, VS Code, IntelliJ
• Experience with SQL and data modeling

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.