Sr. Director- Software Engineering (Shared Capabilities Leader)

Willis Towers Watson; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 160,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual short-term incentive bonus

Job summary

Willis Towers Watson seeks a Capabilities Leader to own four shared functions (DevOps, Data Engineering, IT Operations, Shared Platform) and to drive cloud maturity, platform investments, and cross-stream service delivery across global teams. You will ensure platform reliability, partner with Architecture, and manage vendor relationships while guiding budget and strategic roadmaps.

This leadership role requires extensive experience in complex enterprises, with a focus on shared services,

Qualifications

• Extensive senior technology leadership experience in complex enterprises.
• Experience leading shared services, platform engineering, DevOps, or IT operations.
• Familiarity with production support, incident management, and regulated environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop four direct functions: DevOps & Release Management, Data Engineering, IT Operations & Production Support, and Shared Platform.
• Ensure shared capabilities serve multiple streams with neutral priority.
• Own availability, reliability, and resilience targets across all shared capabilities.
• Drive cloud maturity, infrastructure modernization, and platform simplification.
• Oversee stand-up of Shared Platform with authentication, enrollment services, and common APIs.
• Partner with Architecture to align with standards and data models.
• Manage vendor relationships and technology licensing.
• Define investment priorities and report on platform health and metrics.
• Build delivery across geographically distributed teams including India.

Skills

Senior leadership

Multi-function leadership

Cloud infrastructure (Azure)

CI/CD platforms

Production support

Incident management

Vendor management

Budget planning

Executive communication

Healthcare/financial services tech

Tools

Azure

CI/CD tooling

Data pipeline tooling

Job description

Description

The Capabilities Leader owns the shared operational technology functions that underpin delivery across all three business streams. The role has direct accountability for four functions: DevOps & Release Management, Data Engineering, IT Operations & Production Support and Shared Platform. These four functions operate as shared optimized to serve Customer Engagement, Accounts, and Enrollment equally. The Capabilities Leader is accountable for platform availability, operational maturity, and the long-term build-out of shared capabilities, working closely with Delivery Leaders and the Architecture Practice to ensure shared infrastructure remains aligned to standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop four direct functions: DevOps & Release Management, Data Engineering, IT Operations & Production Support, and Shared Platform. Set clear charters, roadmaps, and operating models for each.

• Ensure shared capabilities operate as neutral services across all three delivery streams - Customer Engagement, Accounts, and Enrollment - with no stream receiving disproportionate access or priority.

• Own availability, reliability, and resilience targets across all shared capabilities. Serve as the escalation point for production incidents, platform degradation, and cross-stream resource contention.

• Drive cloud maturity, infrastructure modernization, and platform simplification across DevOps and Data Engineering. Own the cloud investment roadmap within Capabilities.

• Oversee the stand-up of the Shared Platform function - working with the Shared Platform Leader to scope, prioritize, and build shared authentication, enrollment services, and common APIs across IM and BA.

• Partner with Architecture to ensure all Capabilities decisions align with established standards, ADRs, and the canonical data model.

• Manage vendor relationships and technology licensing for platform tooling, cloud services, and operational software within the Capabilities portfolio.

• Define investment priorities across all four functions and provide regular reporting to the Technology Leader on platform health, roadmap progress, and key operational metrics.

• Build and sustain delivery across geographically distributed teams, including India-based roles under the Capabilities India lead structure.

Qualifications

• Extensive senior technology leadership experience within a complex enterprise environment, including leadership of shared services, platform engineering, DevOps, or IT operations functions.

• Demonstrated experience leading multiple distinct technology functions simultaneously, each with its own team, roadmap, and stakeholder base.

• Strong working knowledge of cloud infrastructure (Azure preferred), CI/CD platforms, data engineering, and IT operations in a production environment.

• Experience operating shared services that serve multiple product or delivery teams, with a clear model for prioritization, internal SLAs, and contention management.

• Familiarity with production support, incident management, and IT operations in a regulated environment (SOC2, HIPAA, SOX).

• Experience hiring and scaling technology teams across multiple functions and geographies, including India-based delivery models.

• Strong financial management skills - able to plan and track investment across multiple cost centers.

• Excellent stakeholder management and executive communication skills.

• Experience in US healthcare, benefits, or financial services technology is a plus.

Leadership Competencies

• Operational Excellence and Reliability Ownership

• Cross-Functional Partnership and Shared Services Leadership

• Strategic Resourcing and Capacity Management

• Team Development and Inclusive Leadership

• Commercial Acumen and Investment Prioritization

• Stakeholder Management and Executive Communication

Key Success Measures

• Platform availability and reliability across all four functions - DevOps, Data, IT Operations & Production Support, and Shared Platform.

• Delivery team satisfaction with shared capabilities - no stream experiences sustained resource contention or disproportionate wait times.

• Shared Platform function stood up and delivering initial services within six months of the Shared Platform Leader hire.

• Data Engineering operating against Architecture standards; data pipeline SLAs met.

• IT Operations & Production Support achieving defined SLA and SLO targets.

• Capabilities portfolio managed within agreed budget envelope.

• Capabilities India lead identified and reporting structure operational within 90 days of hire.

This position will remain posted for a minimum of three business days from the date posted or until sufficient/appropriate candidate slate has been identified.

Compensation and Benefits

Benefits information for this position are being included in accordance with requirements of various state/local pay transparency legislation. Please note that salaries may vary for different individuals in the same role based on several factors, including but not limited to location of the role, individual competencies, education/professional certifications, qualifications/experience, performance in the role and potential for revenue generation (Producer roles only).

Compensation

The salary compensation range being offered for this role is $160,000 to $240,000.

This role is also eligible for an annual short-term incentive bonus.

Company Benefits:

WTW provides a competitive benefit package which includes the following (eligibility requirements apply):

• Health and Welfare Benefits:Medical (including prescription coverage), Dental, Vision, Health Savings Account, Commuter Account, Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, Group Accident, Group Critical Illness, Life Insurance, AD&D, Group Legal, Identify Theft Protection, Wellbeing Program and Work/Life Resources (including Employee Assistance Program)

• Leave Benefits:Paid Holidays, Annual Paid Time Off (includes paid state/local paid leave where required), Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, Other Leaves (e.g., Bereavement, FMLA, ADA, Jury Duty, Military Leave, and Parental and Adoption Leave), Paid Time Off

• Retirement Benefits:Contributory Pension Plan and Savings Plan (401k). All Level 38 and more senior roles may also be eligible for non-qualified Deferred Compensation and Deferred Savings Plans

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

EOE, including disability/vets