Tech Lead Software Engineer

swa; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Southwest Airlines seeks a Tech Lead Software Engineer to shape mission-critical data and optimization engines that keep operations safe, reliable, and efficient. You will guide a Pod that sources and curates airline data across domains, translating business needs into robust designs, tests, and deployments.

You will mentor developers, collaborate with Solution Architects and stakeholders, and drive performance, reliability, and scalable software supporting network planning and recovery

Qualifications

• Advanced knowledge of software development methodologies and practices.
• Proficiency in programming languages; at least one primary language.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with proactive mindset.

Responsibilities

• Provide accurate development estimates for feasibility assessments.
• Create and review designs with Solution Architects and shared services Teams, ensuring alignment to solution architectures and tradeoffs.
• Develop, maintain, and review software with a focus on quality and maintainability.
• Develop, maintain, review, and execute unit, functional, and integration tests with automation and TDD.
• Provide technical oversight for performance testing to meet non-functional requirements.
• Plan and oversee deployment activities in non-production and production environments.
• Investigate new technologies that could improve applications and development activities.
• Mentor and coach Development Team on architecture, design, development, and operations topics.
• Evaluate code for validity, structure, standards, and cross-platform compatibility.
• May perform other duties as directed by Leaders.

Skills

Software development methodologies

Programming languages

Project management

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Leadership

Multiple concurrent efforts

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

As a Tech Lead Software Engineer, you'll help shape the mission-critical data and optimization engines that keep Southwest running safe, reliable, and efficient. You'll guide the a Pod that sources and curates airline data across multiple domains, ensuring it's accurate, scalable, and ready for software which supports network planning and rapid recovery decisions when operations are disrupted. You'll lead the technical direction, mentor Developers, and provide hands-on support to the Team building complex, high-performance C++ models, translating business needs into robust designs, test automation, and dependable deployments. You'll partner closely with Business Leaders, Solution Architects, shared services Teams, and Operations stakeholders to align capacity, architecture, and non-functional requirements like performance and reliability. Your work will strengthen decision-making and recovery speed, reduce risk, and unlock measurable value for Southwest's operation and Customers-powering more dependable schedules, better use of our assets, and long-term success for our Employees and the business.

Additional Details

This role is offered as a remote workplace position, which may require travel for trainings, meetings, conferences, etc. Outside of those required visits, the majority of your working time may be spent in a remote location, away from our Corporate Campus. Please note, while this is a remote position, there is limited group of states or localities ineligible for Employees to regularly perform their work off-site. Those ineligible locations are: Alaska, Delaware, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Puerto Rico.

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, 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 relat