Lead Full Stack Engineer (Director level)

John Hancock • Boston, MA

277d • $124,250 - $230,750 • Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Lead Full Stack Engineer to lead our Global Virtual Assistant Capability. The role involves developing strategy with IT business partners, managing the engineering team, and aligning with business goals. Responsibilities include hands-on coding using Microsoft Azure Technologies, sustaining and innovating the Virtual Assistant capability, and managing stakeholder and vendor relationships. This role is at the Director level starting as an individual contributor but possibility of People leadership exists in the future. Strong leadership and people management skills are crucial. The ideal candidate will have expertise in full stack development, specifically in integrating advanced predictive language models and microservices using the Azure Bot Framework for Customer facing ChatBot. Effective communication and collaboration with cross-functional teams are essential. Office location: Ideally Boston - USA or optional Toronto - Canada Work arrangement: Hybrid - 3 days in office, 2 days from Home (Remote working option is not available).

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.
• At least 8 - 10 years in IT experience.
• Proven experience as a Full Stack Engineer, with a focus on AI and virtual assistant technologies.
• Strong proficiency with at least 7+ years in C#.NET and experience with solution architecture.
• In-depth understanding of the Azure Bot Framework and microservices integration.
• Experience with advanced predictive language models, such as CLU.
• Proficiency in React.js framework and mobile development.
• Leadership skills including strategic, thought and people leadership.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to provide clear technical updates.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Extensive experience handling vendor relationships, especially with Amazon, and assessing new products or features.

Nice To Haves

• Familiarity with other AI and machine learning frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership of the Customer facing Virtual Assistant Capability
• Develop, prioritize and implement the long-term strategic plan for Customer facing Virtual Assistant, aligning it with the company's business and technology goals.
• Co-own and drive progress towards target state partnering with the architect.
• Assess new Technology trends and features for customer servicing, business growth and efficiency potential.
• Drive initiatives to improve and optimize the Chatbot platform, ensuring scalability and adherence to best practices.
• Design, develop, and maintain scalable and efficient full stack applications for virtual assistants using Microsoft Azure technologies.
• Integrate advanced predictive language models, such as CLU, into our bot initiatives.
• Utilize the Azure Bot Framework to build and deploy conversational AI solutions.
• Collaborate with solution architects to ensure robust and scalable architecture design.
• Develop and maintain microservices to support bot functionalities.
• Implement front-end solutions using React.js and ensure seamless integration with mobile platforms.
• Provide regular technical status updates and communicate effectively with stakeholders.
• Supervise Chatbot team, Engineers & Platform administrators.
• Guide, mentor, and support team members to create a cooperative, high-performance team.
• Manage team capacity, resource allocation, and performance to ensure timely and quality project delivery while improving overall efficiency and effectiveness of the squads.
• Create and implement career development plans for team members.
• Act as the main contact between Engineering Team and stakeholders from various segments, ensuring projects meet business needs and are delivered on time.
• Foster strong relationships with Vendor, collaborating to assess new tools and services.
• Communicate with internal leaders and architecture to discuss platform performance, prioritize tasks, and highlight Chatbot's value.
• Direct the planning, execution, and completion of projects, meeting timelines, scope, budget and business objectives.
• Manage platform performance and enhancements to keep the system secure, stable, and scalable.
• Set prioritization to balance immediate project needs with long-term platform development.
• Apply Agile methodologies for efficient, iterative project delivery and ongoing improvement.
• Develop and enforce governance frameworks for Chatbots to ensure alignment with internal policies, security, and regulations.
• Establish and track KPIs for platform health, project completion, and business outcomes.
• Maintain robust data governance with secure, private, and well-managed data protocols.
• Collaborate with various business partners and other technology teams to ensure smooth integration with the broader IT infrastructure, including enterprise applications and data sources.
• Work closely with business to encourage adoption and optimize value from chatbots.
• Oversee training, user adoption, and change management initiatives to enhance platform usage throughout the organization.
• Communicate platform maturity and progress towards target state via dashboards, score cards, etc.
• Communicate delivery efficiency such as velocity, burn-down metrics, code quality, etc., to IT stakeholders.

Benefits

• Health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance coverage.
• Adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits.
• Employee/family assistance plans.
• Retirement savings plans (including pension/401(k) savings plans and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions).
• Financial education and counseling resources.
• Generous paid time off program including up to 11 paid holidays, 3 personal days, 150 hours of vacation, and 40 hours of sick time.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Industry: Insurance Carriers and Related Activities
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree