Senior Software Engineer

Western Governors University•Salt Lake City, UT

2d•$143,700 - $222,700

About The Position

The Senior Software Engineer researches, designs, develops, analyzes, tests, and implements software operating or application systems. The role communicates project information to clients, project managers, and other design personnel; maintains productive working relationships; writes and maintains complete documentation; supports team members in meeting goals and deadlines; and keeps management informed of status and significant issues. The engineer designs, builds, and delivers scalable, high-quality full-stack software systems, including modern web applications, services, and APIs. Working primarily with Java/Spring Boot, TypeScript/Node.js, and Angular, the role partners with product, design, and engineering teams to solve complex problems, influence technical direction, and improve performance, reliability, and user experience. The work includes developing cloud-native, event-driven services on AWS and responsibly handling student data in accordance with FERPA. The position owns the operational health and quality of student-facing systems, including availability, performance, reliability, accessibility, and production incident response. It participates in an on-call rotation, serves as an escalation point for complex incidents, leads modernization and migration efforts, manages technical debt, conducts root-cause analysis, and drives improvements that prevent incident recurrence. The engineer mentors colleagues and contributes to the team's engineering culture. This is a full-time, regular position classified for 40 standard weekly hours.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field; equivalent experience may substitute for formal education.
At least 6 years of experience building and delivering full-stack applications.
Experience developing web applications and APIs using modern languages such as Java, TypeScript/Node.js, or JavaScript.
Experience with frontend frameworks such as Angular or similar frameworks.
Experience working with service-based or modular architectures.
Experience contributing to or leading system design decisions.
Hands-on experience building and operating services on AWS, including Fargate/ECS, Lambda, API Gateway, RDS, and S3.
Experience with containerized microservices, including Docker and Kubernetes.
Experience with event-driven architecture or messaging such as Kafka or similar.
Strong foundation in software development, system design, and scalable architecture.
Strong understanding of API design and system integration, including RESTful services.
Ability to work across multiple languages and frameworks and select suitable tools for a problem.
Ability to design for scalability, performance, and reliability; strong understanding of SDLC and modern development practices.
Experience with observability practices, including logging, monitoring, and distributed tracing.
Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and influence technical direction.
Strong communication skills with technical and non-technical audiences.
Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers and improve team performance.
Strong ownership mindset, including the ability to manage risk and dependencies and operate in ambiguous environments.
Ability to participate in on-call response and own operational health and service outcomes.
Experience building event-driven, message-based services such as Kafka/Confluent or similar.
Experience with Blue/Green deployment practices.
Knowledge or application of secure-coding practices (OWASP), authentication/authorization (OAuth2/OIDC, JWT), and FERPA/student-data handling.
Ability to ensure accessibility (WCAG/ADA) in student-facing applications.
Ability to use AI-assisted development tools responsibly within data-handling and security policies.

Nice To Haves

Experience working across multiple programming languages and frameworks in a full-stack environment.
Experience with AWS or other cloud platforms.
Experience with backend frameworks such as Spring Boot or Node.js.
Experience with CI/CD pipelines and modern deployment practices.
Experience with observability and incident response using Dynatrace and CloudWatch.
Experience working in Agile/Scrum environments.
Experience mentoring engineers or acting as a technical lead.
Experience with API design and system integration.
Familiarity with GitHub, JIRA, VS Code, and IntelliJ.
Experience with SQL and data modeling.
Experience with NestJS and the Angular ecosystem, including NgRx and Nx.
Experience with Kubernetes/Argo and Infrastructure as Code (Terraform).
Experience with event streaming such as Kafka/Confluent and schema registry.
Experience with content/forms platforms such as Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), Form.io, or FormAssembly.
Experience with accessibility testing tools such as axe-core and Playwright/Cypress.
Experience with trunk-based development and modern branching/release strategies.

Responsibilities

Research, design, develop, analyze, test, and implement software operating or application systems.
Design, build, and deliver scalable, high-quality full-stack software systems, including frontend applications, backend services, and APIs.
Partner with product, design, and engineering teams to solve complex problems, influence technical direction, and improve system performance, reliability, and user experience.
Communicate project information to clients, project managers, and other design personnel; maintain good working relationships with clients and staff.
Write and maintain complete documentation, support team members, help ensure goals and deadlines are met, and keep management informed of status and significant problems.
Build cloud-native, event-driven services on AWS and handle student data responsibly in accordance with FERPA.
Participate in the on-call rotation and act as the escalation point for complex production incidents; own service availability, MTTR, and change-success outcomes.
Lead production troubleshooting and resolution and drive post-incident improvements that prevent recurrence.
Lead domain migrations and modernization, including framework or library upgrades, service re-platforming, and database changes; manage the team's technical-debt landscape.
Challenge incomplete, conflicting, or infeasible requirements and drive root-cause analysis rather than merely addressing symptoms.
Own the quality, performance, reliability, and accessibility (WCAG/ADA) of student-facing systems within the domain.
Apply secure-coding practices and appropriate authentication, authorization, and student-data handling.
Use AI-assisted development tools effectively and responsibly within data-handling and security policies.
Mentor engineers and contribute to improving team performance and engineering culture.
Collaborate across teams, communicate with technical and non-technical audiences, manage risk and dependencies, and adapt in ambiguous environments.