dir engineering – Global Technology Strategy & Enablement
About The Position
Starbucks is seeking a Director of Engineering to lead Global Technology Strategy & Enablement. This role is responsible for shaping how technology is designed, standardized, and scaled across Starbucks markets globally. The position sets the global technical direction for retail and digital platforms, connecting US-based Starbucks Technology teams, Starbucks Digital Solutions, and regional teams to ensure efficient and widespread adoption of technology solutions. The role involves influencing senior engineering leaders and partnering with various technology teams to define architecture standards, reference patterns, and engineering practices. Success will be measured by consistent engineering standards across regions, faster deployment of global capabilities, and a clear, actionable technology strategy. The role requires judging the fit of global products in markets, identifying areas for flexibility, and addressing costs associated with fragmentation. The position is based in Nashville, TN, and requires in-office presence Monday-Thursday.
Requirements
- Deep expertise in modern engineering ecosystems, including cloud platforms, application development, and integration architecture.
- Proven track record setting technology strategy and translating it into standards, reference architectures, and practices that teams genuinely adopt.
- Experience leading engineering across multiple markets or regions, balancing global consistency with local operating realities.
- Strong record of influence without authority, aligning peer engineering, product, and business leaders around shared platforms and shared outcomes.
- Experience partnering with central or enterprise technology groups and digital product teams to shape roadmaps and land capability in region.
- Ability to identify duplication, fragmentation, and platform gaps, and to build the business case for consolidating on common solutions.
- Experience leading and developing a small, senior team of engineers and engineering managers.
- Comfort with technical governance—architecture review, standards assurance, and technology risk—applied pragmatically rather than bureaucratically.
- Experience operating in fast-paced, high-impact environments with multiple competing priorities and stakeholders across time zones.
Nice To Haves
- 10+ years of experience in software, platform, or data engineering, with 5+ years leading engineers and engineering managers.
- Experience leading engineering at director-level scope within large, complex, multi-market organizations.
- Experience in retail, hospitality, or other store-based operations at scale.
- Strong background in modern cloud, data, and integration architecture.
- Experience defining and rolling out engineering standards, governance, or architecture practice across an enterprise.
- Demonstrated success hiring, developing, and retaining high-performing engineering teams.
- Strong executive communication skills, with the ability to translate technical strategy into business impact.
- Experience working across distributed teams and time zones, influencing across organizational boundaries.
Responsibilities
- Own the global technology strategy for international retail and digital platforms, translating enterprise direction into a clear, prioritized regional roadmap.
- Partner with US-based Starbucks Technology teams and Starbucks Digital Solutions to shape global products for scalability into international markets.
- Define and drive engineering standards, reference architectures, and best practices for regional teams.
- Lead and develop a team of senior engineering leaders, setting direction, raising the technical bar, and growing their scope.
- Drive consistency across regions, reducing duplicated builds, local variants, and fragmentation.
- Enable regional and market teams to adopt global platforms through guidance, architecture review, and technical partnership.
- Leverage Starbucks scale by identifying reusable capability, aligning shared investment, and advocating for build-once solutions.
- Establish pragmatic governance for visibility into architecture decisions, technology risk, and delivery health across markets.
- Represent international needs in global technology forums, influencing roadmaps and design decisions without direct authority.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, and other voluntary insurance benefits.
- Short-term and long-term disability.
- Paid parental leave.
- Family expansion reimbursement.
- Paid vacation from date of hire.
- Sick time (accrued at 1 hour for every 25 hours worked).
- Eight paid holidays.
- Two personal days per year.
- 401(k)-retirement plan with employer match.
- Discounted company stock program (S.I.P.).
- Starbucks equity program (Bean Stock).
- Incentivized emergency savings.
- Financial well-being tools.
- 100% upfront tuition coverage for a first-time bachelor’s degree through Arizona State University’s online program via the Starbucks College Achievement Plan.
- Student loan management resources.
- Access to other educational opportunities.
- Backup care.
- DACA reimbursement.
Stand Out From the Crowd
Upload your resume and get instant feedback on how well it matches this job.
What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
Education Level
No Education Listed
