Tech Lead Software Engineer

Southwest Airlines Co.; Dallas (TX); Hybrid; USD 161,000 - 178,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flight benefits

401(k) match

Profit sharing

Health insurance

Retirement plan contributions

Job summary

Southwest Airlines Co. seeks a Tech Lead Software Engineer to guide a Team of data engineers delivering secure, governed People data across the enterprise. You will shape data products, expand self-service capabilities, and explore AI while ensuring quality and reliability.

This role blends leadership with hands-on development in a hybrid Dallas-area setting. You will mentor engineers, drive architecture discussions, and partner across Technology and business to modernize data delivery for

Qualifications

• Required: High School Diploma or GED.
• Required: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information systems or similar fields or equivalent experience.
• Expert level experience in software engineering with broad knowledge.
• Preferred: GitLab Duo, operational data engineering, ETL Glue, AWS services, Java, Python, Kafka.

Responsibilities

• Provide accurate development estimates for feasibility and planning.
• Create, maintain, and review designs with Solution Architects ensuring alignment.
• Develop and maintain high-quality, maintainable software.
• Develop and execute automated unit, functional, and integration tests.
• Provide technical oversight for performance testing and non-functional requirements.
• Plan and oversee deployment activities in non-production and production environments.
• Investigate new technologies to improve applications and development.
• Identify and resolve technical debt while balancing effort and value.
• Mentor and coach the Development Team on architecture and operations.
• Evaluate code for quality, structure, and cross-browser/device compatibility.
• May perform other duties as directed.

Skills

Leadership

Mentoring

Analytical thinking

Java

Python

Kafka

AWS

Software architecture

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field

High School Diploma or GED

Tools

GitLab Duo

AWS Fargate

AWS Lambda

AWS Step Functions

Job description

Department:

Technology

Our Company Promise

We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.

Job Description:

Job Summary

Ready to lead the technology behind Southwest's People Data ecosystem? As a Tech Lead Software Engineer, you will lead and mentor a talented Team of data engineers responsible for delivering secure, reliable, and governed People data across the enterprise. You will guide the development of modern data products that support critical operational, regulatory, security, and analytical needs while ensuring strong technical quality and reliability. Partnering across Technology and the business, you will help expand self-service capabilities, modernize how data is delivered and consumed, and explore emerging technologies, including AI. Your leadership will help shape a scalable data foundation that enables better insights and decision-making across Southwest.

Additional details:

• This Dallas-based role is offered as a remote workplace position, which may require onsite presence / travel fortrainings, meetings, conferences, etc. Outside of those required visits, the majority of your working time may be spent in an approved remote location within the Dallas - Fort Worth area. Hybrid
• U.S. citizenship or current authorization to work in the U.S. required and no current or future work authorization sponsorship available.

We're committed to fair hiring practices and to making employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, military or veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other legally protected characteristics.

Responsibilities

• Provide accurate development estimates in support of feasibility assessments and planned development activities
• Create, maintain, review and approve application designs in collaboration with Solution Architects and shared services Teams, ensuring alignment to the appropriate solution architectures and taking tradeoffs into account
• Develop, maintain, and review software with a focus on quality and maintainability
• Develop, maintain, review, and execute unit, functional, and integration tests with a focus on automation and test-driven development
• Provide technical oversight for performance testing, ensuring plan and outcomes align to expected non-functional requirements
• Plan and oversee application deployment activities and sequencing in non-production and production environments
• Investigate new technologies that could improve the applications and development activities
• Identify and resolve technical debt as appropriate, weighing the development effort against the value returned
• Mentor and coach Development Team on relevant architecture, design, development, and operations topics
• Evaluate code to ensure that it is valid, is properly structured, meets industry standards, and is compatible with browsers, devices, or operating systems
• May perform other job duties as directed by Employee's Leaders

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Advanced knowledge of software development methodologies, practices, concepts, and technologies
• Advanced knowledge of at least one programming language and at least general knowledge of one or more additional programming languages
• Knowledge of project management methodology and principles
• Ability to demonstrate strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with a proactive mindset to get ahead of issues
• Skilled in communication with ability to articulate a clear direction and priorities on ideas, approaches, concepts, options, risks, impacts, and recommendations to technical, non-technical, and Leadership audiences with ability to adapt the message accordingly
• Ability to articulate the technical implementation and how it provides business value
• Ability to lead ideation, presentation, and group-thinking sessions
• Ability to influence effectively without authority up through Senior Leadership levels to achieve desired business outcomes
• Ability to lead multiple efforts concurrently, whether administrative or project related, while maintaining a successful level of completion in their own work
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, Team-based, Customer service-oriented environment

Education

• Required: High School Diploma or GED
• Required: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information systems or similar fields of study or equivalent advanced level experience

Experience

• Required: Expert level experience, expansive and far reaching knowledge in software engineering
• Preferred: Experience with GitLab Duo
• Preferred: Experience with operational data engineering
• Preferred: Experience with ETL Glue
• Preferred: Experience in Java, Python, and Kafka
• Preferred: Experience with AWS Fargate, Lambda, and Step Functions
• Preferred: Experience implementing architectural design patterns
• Preferred: IaC experience
• Preferred: Experience with serverless frameworks
• Preferred: Experience in event-driven architecture
• Preferred: Experience with AWS Batch, S3, Node JS

Licensing/Certification

• N/A

Physical Abilities

• Ability to perform work duties from [limited space work station/desk/office area] for extended periods of time
• Ability to communicate and interact with others in the English language to meet the demands of the job
• Ability to use a computer and other office productivity tools with sufficient speed and accuracy to meet the demands of the job

Other Qualifications

• Must maintain a well-groomed appearance per Company appearance standards as described in established guidelines
• Must be a U.S. citizen or have authorization to work in the United States as defined by the Immigration Reform Act of 1986
• Must be at least 18 years of age
• Must be able to comply with Company attendance standards as described in established guidelines
• Must be able to travel and /or attend Company and non-Company facilities and remote locations such as remote-based offices as necessary

Pay & Benefits

Competitive market salary from$160,550 - $178,400 per year* depending on qualifications and experience, with opportunity for future pay increases based on performance and market movement. For eligible leadership and individual contributor roles, additional bonus opportunities are available and awarded at the discretion of the company.

Benefits you'll love:

• Fly for free, as a privilege, on any open seat on all Southwest flights (your eligible dependents too)
• Southwest will help fund your Retirement Savings Plan with Company contributions up to 9.3% of your eligible earnings**
• Potential for annual ProfitSharing contribution in the Southwest Retirement Savings Plan- when Southwest profits, you profit***
• Competitive health insurance for you and your eligible dependents (including pets)
• Southwest offers health plan coverage options that start from the very first day of employment. You will have 30 days to select and enroll in your health plan with coverage retroactively available to your first day of employment.
• Explore more Benefits you'll love: https://careers.southwestair.com/benefits

*Pay amount doesn't guarantee employment for any particular period of time

**401(k) match contributions are subject to the plan's vesting schedule and applicable IRS limits

***ProfitSharing contributions are subject to plan's vesting schedule and are made at the discretion of the Company

Southwest Airlines is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Please print/save this job description because it won't be available after you apply.