Senior 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 410 Pay Range: $143,700.00 - $222,700.00 Job Description The Senior Software Engineer is responsible for the research, design, development, analysis, testing, and implementation of software operating or application systems. They communicate project information to client, project manager, or other design personnel working on projects. They maintain good working relationships with clients and staff. They write and maintains complete documentation. They support team members and ensures established goals and deadlines are met. They keep management informed of status and significant problems.   Ready to make a meaningful impact through technology? As a Senior Software Engineer, you’ll bring deep technical expertise, strong engineering judgment, and a collaborative mindset to building and improving scalable software solutions. You’ll serve as a technical leader and mentor while partnering across teams to solve complex problems, manage technical risk, and strengthen the systems that support the university education platform. What You’ll Do Serve as a technical expert and trusted resource in assigned areas of software engineering, mentoring junior engineers and helping the team grow its capabilities. Lead or consult for engineering teams, translating functional, non-functional, and implied requirements into thoughtful designs and high-quality code. Take accountability for service quality and successful project delivery, balancing scope, budget, timelines, reliability, and cost. Identify technical risks, dependencies, gaps, and potential solutions early, while helping other engineers strengthen their approach to risk management. Partner effectively across engineering, Operations, and other disciplines to troubleshoot complex system issues, minimize time to restore services, and improve system performance. Share technical knowledge through mentoring, presentations, documentation, and collaborative problem-solving while helping identify opportunities for team improvement. Design and execute pragmatic testing strategies that balance quality, delivery speed, cost, security, scale, reliability, and fault tolerance. What You’ll Bring Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field. 6 years of experience in software development; pioneering new approaches and technologies in engineering. Experience in web-based applications and web services using Java, REST, ServiceNow, and other web technologies, including experience interfacing with databases, and integrating third party products with existing infrastructure. Experience with relational databases such as Oracle, MySQL, and Aurora, along with non-SQL databases. Strong understanding of software development practices, including planning, coding, testing, security, algorithms and complexity, abstraction, reuse, and software development lifecycle models. Experience designing scalable, reliable, and cost-conscious software systems, including SaaS and public cloud environments. Strong communication, problem-solving, and technical leadership skills, with the ability to identify risks, propose solutions, mentor others, and collaborate effectively across teams. Bonus Points Master’s Degree or PhD in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field. Experience with IntelliJ/VS Code, JIRA, Git, Agile/Scrum development, Java or a similar object-oriented language, J2EE, Java EE, JavaScript, and SQL. Experience with IDM/OSSO, Hibernate/Seam, Banner, legacy-system integration, cloud-native development, or porting/refactoring on-site applications to the cloud, preferably AWS, and/or relevant technical certifications. Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements. Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as 1 year of experience for 1 year of education and is the discretion of the hiring manager. What to Expect At WGU, our mission drives everything we do, including how we hire. Our interview experience is designed to give qualified candidates the opportunity to show their best work through meaningful conversations and collaboration. We thoughtfully review every application and invite forward the candidates whose experience and potential best align with the role and our mission. Introductory call with a Talent partner Technical interview Hiring leader interview Stakeholder Interview Work Location This is a full-time, in-office position requiring five days per week in our Salt Lake City, UT office, designed to foster the collaboration and connection that fuel our best work. Visa Sponsorship While we welcome applicants from all backg