Sr. Staff Software Engineer- Eng

UKG; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

UKG is seeking an experienced architecture leader to own the design of enterprise-scale foundation services used across HR, Recruiting, Pay, and Benefits. You will define technical strategy, drive standards, and guide platform teams through SDLC, with emphasis on performance, reliability, security, and accessibility.

You will lead modernization efforts, champion observability, and leverage AI-driven approaches to improve engineering productivity and customer outcomes.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of enterprise software development experience and scalable services
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field or equivalent
• Experience designing distributed systems, APIs, and reusable platform components
• Experience with messaging systems such as Kafka or RabbitMQ
• Strong understanding of design patterns, OOP, BDD, TDD, secure engineering, and production readiness
• Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms; GCP preferred
• Proficiency with Git and modern CI/CD practices
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies and cross-team delivery models
• Proven ability to lead architectural direction and drive adoption
• Track record of leading complex cross-functional initiatives
• Strong focus on performance, scalability, reliability, and observability
• Experience modernizing legacy systems and cloud-native patterns
• Exposure to SRE practices, incident response, and service ownership
• Experience with HCM/payroll/benefits domain is a plus
• Experience with AI/ML tools in engineering workflows or product capabilities

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture and design of enterprise-scale HCM platform services across HR, Recruiting, Pay, and Benefits

Skills

Enterprise software development

Distributed systems design

APIs and integration patterns

Messaging systems

Docker

Kubernetes

Cloud platforms

Git and CI/CD

Agile methodologies

Cross-team leadership

Architectural standards

Performance and reliability

Observability / SRE

AI/ML in engineering

HCM domain awareness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

Equivalent experience

Tools

Docker

Kubernetes

Git

CI/CD tools

Kafka

RabbitMQ

Cloud platforms (GCP)

Job description

Responsibilities

Own the architecture and design of enterprise-scale foundational HCM platform services used across HR, Recruiting, Pay, and Benefits applications. Define and drive technical strategy, standards, and best practices for shared services, platform libraries, APIs, and modernization patterns. Design scalable services and integration patterns that support modern web, mobile, and cross-suite HCM experiences. Lead complex system design discussions and influence long-term technical decisions across product and platform teams. Evaluate and incorporate AI-driven solutions and architectures where they provide measurable value to engineering productivity, reliability, or customer outcomes. Development & Delivery: Lead the development of high-impact platform capabilities, shared services, and modernization efforts across the Pro HCM foundation layer. Ensure solutions meet performance, scalability, reliability, security, accessibility, and operability requirements. Guide teams through all phases of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), from design through production readiness and adoption. Contribute hands‑on to critical areas of the codebase, especially where architectural direction, technical depth, or cross‑team alignment is needed. Quality & Engineering Excellence: Champion a culture of quality-first development for shared foundation services. Utilize AI to improve test coverage, defect detection, code review, documentation, and system observability. Review code and system designs to ensure maintainability, scalability, security, and adoption readiness. Drive improvements in CI/CD, observability, automation, and operational excellence for platform services.

Qualifications

8+ years of experience in enterprise software development, including significant experience building scalable services or platform capabilities. Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experience. Experience designing distributed systems, APIs, integration patterns, and reusable platform components. Experience with messaging systems such as Kafka or RabbitMQ. Strong understanding of design patterns, OOP, BDD, TDD, secure engineering, and production readiness practices. Experience with Docker, Kubernetes, and cloud platforms; GCP experience preferred. Proficiency with Git and modern CI/CD practices. Familiarity with Agile methodologies and cross-team delivery models. Track record of influencing technical direction across multiple teams or organizations. Demonstrated ability to set architectural standards and drive adoption. Proven ability to lead highly complex, cross-functional initiatives with significant business impact. Experience leading cross-team platform, modernization, or shared services initiatives. Strong background in performance, scalability, reliability, and operational excellence. Experience modernizing legacy systems and enabling adoption of modern cloud-native patterns. Exposure to observability, SRE practices, service ownership models, and incident response. Experience with HCM, payroll, benefits, recruiting, or workforce platform domains. Experience with AI/ML tools in engineering workflows or product capabilities.