Director of Engineering - Commerce

Vail Resorts • Broomfield, CO

2d • $165,000 - $195,000 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Director of Engineering, Commerce, is a strategically vital position within the Guest Experience Technology department, responsible for defining and driving the technology landscape for guest transactions, reservations, and product fulfillment. keeping current with global e-commerce innovations, payment ecosystems, and industry best practices. In this role, the Director will partner with IT leadership, Digital Experience Product owners, and other key stakeholders to develop and implement a cross-functional commerce roadmap. This roadmap aims to evolve and transform capabilities related to purchasing and redeeming product to provide a guest-centric experience that drives long term loyalty to our brands and resorts.

As a key addition to the Guest Experience Technology leadership team, reporting to the Vice President of Digital Engineering, the successful candidate must bring deep experience in custom software engineering, including a solid history of delivering high-volume, consumer-facing e-commerce systems, native mobile purchase funnels, and web-based transactional platforms using an agile-based approach. The ideal candidate must also possess the ability to develop engineering talent, foster a culture of transparency and technical innovation, and create clear accountabilities to drive transactional success.

Why This Role is Unique

Technical Ownership of High-Revenue Commerce Platforms: Engineering ownership of critical Tier 1 e-commerce platforms, including commerce on owned web and mobile platforms including EpicPass.com, Resort websites, and the My Epic app
Redefining Travel & Hospitality Commerce: The Guest Experience Technology team at Vail Resorts is at the forefront of the Travel and Tourism industry.
Investment in Innovation: Commerce, and the redemption of products on-mountain is a key area of focus for the company. This team, and the platforms it owns, are at the center of this strategic direction and investment.
Direct Executive Impact: High exposure to senior business and IT leaders,offering a unique opportunity to fundamentally architect and reimagine our core digital commerce platforms.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of experience in the following areas:
• Developing and leading collaborative, Agile software engineering teams focused on improving velocity while maintaining strict code quality, security, and scalability in a high volume transactional environment.
• Leading digital commerce and transaction technology strategy, platform migrations, and execution.
• Developing mission-critical software applications, checkout flows, APIs, and systems that support enterprise-level e-commerce.
• A successful track record of building and leading Omni-channel digital commerce teams, including experience developing and executing digital marketplace technologies in a distributed environment (web, mobile app,3rd-party SaaS commerce engines, payment gateways).
• Ability to successfully resolve architectural and situational complexities that are broadly defined, diverse, and occasionally unprecedented.
• Detail-oriented with strong program and project management competencies within complex software rollouts.
• Ability to step into commerce projects that are already in progress or need rescue and effectively assume a leadership role.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with the ability to translate complex technical architectures into business terms for executive presentations.
• Knowledge and hands-on experience within cloud-based platforms, cybersecurity/PCI compliance, and transactional data/analytics.
• Excellent understanding of continuous integration and development methodologies with the ability to communicate cross-platform architectural thinking.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute a multi-year digital commerce technology strategy and implementation plan that aligns with the guest-centric purchasing vision.
• Collaborate with senior leadership to align scalable technology initiatives with commercial business goals, checkout optimization, and external e-commerce trends.
• Stay abreast of industry trends in digital transactions, cloud commerce architectures, automated payment processing, and modern checkout capabilities.
• Empower engineering team members and develop technical talent through performance monitoring, alignment with professional development programs, and company growth.
• Lead and inspire the engineering culture that focuses on high quality and high impact deliverables.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and strict compliance/collaboration within the commerce technology teams.
• Lead the architecture and development of innovative, highly-scalable, and differentiated e-commerce products across consumer-facing web, mobile app, and the broader transactional technology space.
• Oversee the design, development, integration, and deployment of custom software solutions, payment integrations, and that align to business requirements and guest needs.
• Ensure the adoption of engineering best practices in commerce software development, including agile methodologies, code reviews, secure payment standards, and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD).
• Establish and maintain rigorous QA processes to ensure the highest reliability and security standards for all e-commerce systems and transactional software products.
• Implement automated testing frameworks—specifically targeting checkout performance, stress testing, and payment gateway reliability—to streamline testing and improve deployment efficiency.
• Ensure timely identification, documentation, and resolution of system defects throughout the software development lifecycle to minimize friction in the purchase path.
• Build strong relationships that focus on understanding the e-commerce needs of internal stakeholders and IT resources, tailoring our strategy to support frictionless guest buying experiences.

Benefits

• Ski/Mountain Perks! Free passes for employees, employee discounted lift tickets for friends and family AND free ski lessons
• MORE employee discounts on lodging, food, gear, and mountain shuttles
• 401(k) Retirement Plan
• Employee Assistance Program
• Excellent training and professional development
• Health Insurance; Medical Insurance, Dental Insurance, and Vision Insurance plans (for eligible seasonal employees after working 500 hours)
• Free ski passes for dependents
• Critical Illness and Accident plans

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed