Staff Software Engineer

If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country-and you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that future-consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is :

Grade : Technical 411

Pay Range : $157,000.00 - $243,400.00

Job Description

Job Duties

• This role is located in Phoenix, AZ.
• Acts as an expert in multiple areas of software engineering.
• Maintains accountability for the quality of services in multiple areas and teams for the success of the assigned project for on-time, on-budget, and on-scope delivery.
• Contributes as a lead or consultant for their domain area or multiple teams. Is a 'go-to' person in at least one sub-discipline and competent and trusted in several other disciplines or application areas.
• Contributes formally and informally to the effectiveness of teams through formal and informal mentoring and direction during team meetings and problem-solving.
• Contributes and often identifies systemic issues to be solved and contributes to the resolution of the same.
• Actively ensures that engineering has the skill sets they need to be successful with current and future technologies.
• Acts as a planning consultant for Portfolio or Ed Tech as a whole when identifying technical risks and dependencies. Identifies problems far in advance, finds multiple solutions, and recommends the preferred solution to teams and to management.
• Speaks authoritatively and accurately with respect to questions related to their area of ownership or for the platform, as a whole.
• Actively improves operational excellence measured by the availability of the platform to students, faculty, and staff.
• Applies strategies and tools to plan and execute testing strategies to find the 'sweet spot' that maximizes quality while minimizing costs.
• Demonstrates the 'good enough' principle that balances quality and time to implement.
• Understands implications of functional and non-functional requirements on the system.
• Identifies deficiencies in requirements and works with product owners to provide alternatives.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.
• Expert understanding of the processes associated with software development, including Planning, Measurement, Coding, Testing, Reuse, Tools, Abstraction, Algorithms, complexity, Security, and basic system understanding.
• Ability to employ the tools and techniques related to an engineering discipline, such as database management, user interface development, inter-process communications, etc.
• Ability to create designs that can be realized in code that achieve functional and non-functional requirements of the system. Appropriately uses design patterns, system decomposition, security, and fault tolerance. A demonstrated capability in one or more design methodologies, such as Object-oriented design, Function-oriented design, data-centered design, and the notations appropriate for each.
• Ability to understand differences, strengths, and weaknesses of various Software Development Life Cycle models, and practical considerations of options
• Understands implications of Software as a Service in the creation of software systems. Thinks of and designs for scale, reliability, and cost in a public cloud environment. Uses data and metrics to analyze Key Performance Indicators.
• Ability to explain the basic value of a system and its subsystems to users and how the various subsystems interoperate to provide features. Able to act as a partner with Operations in solving platform problems at a system level. Knows what the system can and cannot do.
• Ability to demonstrate a sense of urgency when looking for solutions to problems
• Understands the general higher education landscape, particularly with online higher education, including competitive landscape, opportunities, and feature gaps.
• Ability to identify innovative ideas or technologies that represent opportunities to advance the capabilities of the university education platform, our efficiencies in improving our platform, or both. Can leverage change management processes to drive adoption.
• Ability to make the team stronger and more cohesive
• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage others at the right level at the right time. Communicates effectively in group settings by knowing the audience, listening effectively, and being responsive.
• Ability to identify, mitigate, or avoid risks and works closely with leads or managers to make sure that such risks and dependencies are understood, accounted for, and planned for through an appropriate strategy.

Minimum Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications :

Job Description Disclaimer : This position description provides the major duties / responsibilities, requirements, and working conditions for the position. It is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current position; however, management reserves the right to revise or change as necessary to meet organizational needs. Other responsibilities may be assigned when circumstances require.

#LI-VB!

Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours) : This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply : If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer : The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive.

Accommodations : Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity : All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.