Sr. Director of Software Engineering

Boston, MA

Technology Innovation – Engineering /

Full time /

Hybrid

The MBTA’s Technology Innovation Department’s (TID) Senior Director of Software Engineering directs the build, operation, and maintenance of software and, occasionally, hardware, to produce the best results for our riders and operations staff.

The Senior Director of Software Engineering is responsible for how TID builds, and occasionally buys custom software: software engineering operations, process, standards and rituals. The Senior Director of Software Engineering will lead a team practicing adapted Agile development in a DevOps environment. Currently, all infrastructure is infrastructure-as-code hosted in AWS; almost all software is written in Elixir.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Senior Director of Software Engineering works with the departments functional Senior Directors of UX Research and Design, and Product, and programmatic Senior Directors of Fares Technology, Transit Technology, and Rider Tools programs to establish cross-program standards for software, hardware, and networking architecture and direct teams to implement that vision.

Departmental Technology Leadership

Collaborate across program teams:
Fares Technology to collect rider fares across all modes;
Transit Technology communicates digital schedules, vehicle locations and arrival predictions through service management tools;
Rider Tools provides Transit Technology information in real-time to riders across the system on screens and through public address elements, on the website, and through the MBTA mobile application, MBTA Go.
Collaborate with Senior Directors of functional areas to support teams in adhering to cross-functional standards of project, product management, and design standard implementation in engineering:
UX Research and Design advocates for human-centered design technological solutions, champions equitable and inclusive research and design practices to peer leaders and to external partners, fosters, spreads, and operationalizes design, research, and content strategy best practices;
Product Management establishes cross-program standards for product management and direct teams to implement that vision.
Maintain backlog new project and product ideas/proposals, and help scope and architect new software engineering teams and software itself

People and Engineering Management

Create the scaffolding of agile engineering discipline, including testing, code reviews, deployment, and documentation to facilitate delivery.
Ensure that the infrastructure powering our applications is scalable, secure, and cost-effective.
Monitor compliance on how specific functional tasks (e.g., pull requests, deployments, on-call rotations, etc.) are executed across software engineering teams.
Ensure each product team is adequately and appropriately staffed, proactively manage software engineering team assignments, retention, hiring, and performance management.
Coach staff in the department’s vision of software engineering and resolve questions about the engineering discipline.
Participate in on-call rotation for technology systems and services.

Software Execution

Lead TID engineering teams in software development execution quality. Proactively escalate project or stakeholder issues and negotiate positive outcomes and continuous improvement.

Push TID to be Better

Be a committed, vocal, collaborative member of TID Leads and push for TID to do better in any/all dimensions of its work.
As a member of TID’s leadership team, this role is responsible for leading, practicing and upholding TID’s working agreements, which are essential to the department’s success.
Perform all other duties and projects that may be assigned.

Additional responsibilities may include a focus on one or more departments or locations. See applicable addendum for department or location-specific functions.

Supervision

Direct Supervision of Directors, Deputy Directors; indirect supervision of 30-40 software and technology infrastructure engineers.

Minimum requirements and qualifications:

Ten (10) years of experience in agile software development environment.
Seven (7) years of supervisorial, managerial, and/or leadership experience with design-led software development teams (where the digital product is not the core service of the organization as a whole).
Experience with two (2) or more programming languages from the TIOBE top 20 (https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/).
Experience with Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC).
Experience with APIs / microservices / Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA).
Effective organizational, analytical, confidentiality, multi-tasking and time management skills.
Executive level communication skills.
Ability to participate in on-call rotation for technology systems and services.

Substitutions Include

A High School Diploma or GED with an additional seven (7) years of directly related experience substitutes for the bachelor's degree requirement.
An associate degree from an accredited institution and additional three (3) years of directly related experience substitutes for the bachelor's degree requirement.
A master's degree in a related subject may substitute for two (2) years of general experience.
A nationally recognized certification, or statewide/professional certification in a related field substitutes for one year of experience.

Preferred experience and skills:

Experience in public sector, transportation agency, and/or civic technology team.
Experience developing code as part of an open-source project.
Experience with Terraform/OpenTofu.
AWS certification (Associate or Professional level).

Job conditions:

Ability to effectively read, comprehend, communicate, and respond to instructions, orders, signs, notices, inquiries, etc. in English.
Be at least eighteen (18) years of age, except if participating in an approved high school internship / co-op program.
Ability to commute to assigned work locations in the Boston, MA metro area, as required by the role.
Ability to provide internal and external customers with courteous and professional experiences.
Ability to work effectively, independently, and as part of a diverse workforce team (or supervise, if required).
Ability to uphold the rights and interests of the MBTA while building and maintaining effective relationships with employees and co-workers.
Ability to adhere to rules, regulations, collective bargaining agreements (if applicable), and policies of the MBTA, including the EEO, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, and anti-retaliation policies.
Have a satisfactory work record for the two (2) years immediately prior to the closing date of this posting (unless if current student or recent graduate), including overall employment, job performance, discipline, and safety records (infractions and/or offenses occurring after the closing of the posting and before the filling of a vacancy may preclude a candidate from consideration for selection).
Ability to pass a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check, comprehensive background screening, and / or medical Clinic screening, potentially including a physical examination and drug and alcohol screenings.
Ability to work all shifts and / or locations assigned, directed, or necessary for this position, including (for some transit / operations roles) up to twenty-four (24) hours per day, seven (7) days per week as necessary to accommodate severe weather conditions, emergencies, or any other circumstances that may potentially impact service or the safety of service.
Intern / co-op staff must be enrolled full or part-time in an accredited educational program and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 for the entire duration of the internship / co-op. Additionally, interns / co-ops must have valid work authorization and U.S. Social Security Number prior to starting their positions and throughout the duration of their program.

Disclaimers and Definitions:

General Disclaimer: The statements contained in this job description are intended to describe a summary, general nature, and complexity of typical job functions and do not represent an exhaustive list of all duties, tasks, and responsibilities required of staff assigned to this position.
Application Completion: It is each applicant’s responsibility to ensure application details are entered completely and correctly, including updated work and education histories (past and current). Incomplete applications may not be considered. Attachments do not substitute for application fields. Recruitment team does not have access to existing employee data / history.
Application Deadlines: Applicants should apply as soon as possible, as the MBTA may stop considering applicants after a sufficiently large applicant pool is established.
Work Environment: The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here-in are representative of those an employee may encounter while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations can be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions. See job description for role-specific requirements.
Work Eligibility: Although the MBTA is an Equal Opportunity Employer, all employees must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer and on an unrestricted basis (the MBTA does not sponsor non-US citizens). However, if you have an unrestricted work authorization, or sponsored by a separate entity, you are welcome to apply for open positions. International students taking part in CPT / STEM / OPT programs through a university are eligible for internships and co-ops with the MBTA, but a valid work authorization and U.S. Social Security Number are required prior to starting work. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to complete a Form I-9 to verify their identity and eligibility to work in the U.S.
Interviews: Candidates should ensure they arrive on time, are prepared, can remain for the duration, and if remote, are in a quiet place without distraction, for the interview. Candidates who do not attend their interview without advance authorization, including an email confirmation of a rescheduled time/date from Human Resources, will be considered a no-show and disqualified from consideration for the position. Related to rescheduling, on a one-time basis, and due to something emergent, you may be allowed to reschedule the interview. In addition, Human Resources may require documentation supporting the request. However, should you need to reschedule, you will need to contact your Recruiter directly by email.
Safety Sensitive Positions: Employees working in this classification will be subject to periodic physical examinations plus random drug and alcohol testing.
On-call or 24/7 Positions: Employees working in this classification must be available to respond to page / text / call and report to work as determined by assigned department or the Authority.
Essential / Emergency Staff: During declared "states of emergency," employees working in this classification are required to report to work for their assigned work hours or as directed by management.
ADA Accommodations: The MBTA makes reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. If you require an accommodation during this process, please contact the MBTA's ADA Unit at 617-222-5751 or hradaaa@mbta.com.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The MBTA is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. For terms, descriptions, and definitions related to diversity, equity, inclusion, veteran status, and immediate family members that you may find on the application form, please visit mbta.com/careers-app-definitions.
Intern / Co-Op / Fellow Benefits: Employees taking part in an internship, co-op, or fellowship at the MBTA are eligible to receive accrued paid sick leave as well as a monthly transportation pass, based on city from which the employee commutes to work, at no cost. However, no additional benefits are currently offered for interns, co-ops, or fellows.

Location:

This role will be hybrid, and we will need this person to be local to MA.

Compensation:

$162,710 - 195,000 annually.

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