Dir. Software Engineering at UKG – Seattle | Jobyssey

Why UKG:

At UKG, the work you do matters. The code you ship, the decisions you make, and the care you show a customer all add up to real impact. Today, tens of millions of workers start and end their days with our workforce operating platform. Helping people get paid, grow in their careers, and shape the future of their industries. That’s what we do.

We never stop learning. We never stop challenging the norm. We push for better, and we celebrate the wins along the way. Here, you’ll get flexibility that’s real, benefits you can count on, and a team that succeeds together. Because at UKG, your work matters—and so do you.

***UKG is unable to offer sponsorship for this position.***

Director, Software Engineering:

We are seeking a seasoned Director of Engineering to join our dynamic team. As a first-line manager, you will lead a team of talented engineers, driving technical excellence, fostering a culture of ownership, and ensuring the successful delivery of high-impact projects. You will be responsible for guiding technical decisions, managing team performance, and aligning engineering efforts with business goals.

Responsibilities:
Technical Leadership:
• Architect scalable, secure systems capable of handling sensitive customer data with strict access controls and audit trails.
• Collaborate with architect, product, data science, and design teams to deliver core platform and services.
• Translating strategy into tactical execution by creating and managing an agreed-upon roadmap.
• Be hands-on with code, maintaining high technical standards and actively participating in design and architecture decisions, code reviews, and helping engineers optimize their code.
• Ensure that high standards of performance, scalability, and reliability are maintained when architecting, designing, and developing complex software systems and applications.
• Ensure accountability for the team’s technical decisions and enforce engineering best practices (e.g., documentation, automation, code management, security principles, leverage CoPilot).
• Understand CI/CD pipelines from build, test, to deploy phases.

Team Management:
• Hire, retain, and grow a diverse, high-performing engineering organization.
• Define team structures and capacity planning strategies aligned with key product and business milestones.
• Foster a collaborative and high-performance environment. Conduct regular performance reviews, provide feedback, and support professional development.
• Foster a culture of service ownership and enhance team engagement.
• Facilitate collaboration between engineering, product, and operations to maintain alignment and focus.
• Promote a growth mindset, understanding and driving organizational change.
• Actively seek opportunities for team growth and cross-functional collaboration.

Coaching and Development:
• Mentor engineering managers and individual contributors to develop both technical and leadership skills.
• Establish clear performance expectations and foster a culture of feedback, accountability, and learning.
• Support career progression through individual development plans, training programs, and stretch opportunities.
• Promote knowledge sharing around compensation systems, security best practices, and data compliance.
• Provide technical mentorship and guidance to engineers at all levels, fostering a culture of learning, collaboration, and continuous improvement, encouraging the team to experiment, learn, and iterate on processes and technologies.
• Stay current with emerging technologies and industry trends, advocating for their adoption where appropriate to drive innovation and productivity within the team.

Execution Excellence:
• Oversee the planning, execution, and delivery of high-impact software projects, ensuring they are completed on time and within budget. Manage team workload and capacity, setting priorities and managing risks and tradeoffs.
• Manage execution risk through effective sprint planning, retrospectives, and backlog grooming.
• Ensure high availability and performance of application services during critical business cycles.
• Demonstrate engineering excellence and service ownership, including cost and quality management of services, and effective production management.
• Track and report on KPIs such as velocity, deployment frequency, incident resolution time, and customer satisfaction.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product management, design, and operations, to ensure alignment and successful delivery of projects. Communicate effectively with stakeholders at all levels.

Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of experience in software development, with 3+ years in a technical leadership role and 2+ years in a people management role.
• Proven track record of leading and delivering large-scale, complex software projects.
• Deep expertise in one or more programming languages such as C, C++, C#, .NET, Python, Java, or JavaScript.
• Extensive experience with software architecture and design patterns.
• Strong understanding of cloud technologies and DevOps principles.
• Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with a demonstrated ability to influence and drive change.
• Familiarity with AI powered development at enterprise scale.

Preferred Qualifications:
• Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related technical field.
• Experience with cloud platforms like Azure, AWS, or GCP.
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and automation tools.
• Knowledge of agile development methodologies.
• Experience in a complex, matrixed organization.
• Demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion initiatives.
• Familiarity with developing accessible technologies.

Company Overview:

UKG is the Workforce Operating Platform that puts workforce understanding to work. With the world's largest collection of workforce insights, and people-first AI, our ability to reveal unseen ways to build trust, amplify productivity, and empower talent, is unmatched. It's this expertise that equips our customers with the intelligence to solve any challenge in any industry — because great organizations know their workforce is their competitive edge. Learn more at ukg.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer

UKG is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, disability, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories.

View The EEO Know Your Rights poster

UKG participates in E-Verify. View the E-Verify posters here.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Disability Accommodation in the Application and Interview Process

For individuals with disabilities that need additional assistance at any point in the application and interview process, please email [email protected]

The pay range for this position is $163,900 to $270,883. The actual base pay offered may vary depending on skills, experience, job-related knowledge and work location. In addition to base pay, employees may be eligible to participate in a performance-based bonus plan and to receive restricted stock unit awards as part of total compensation. Learn more about UKG’s benefits and rewards at

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