Software Engineer II WGU Labs

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 408 Pay Range: $118,900.00 - $178,500.00 Job Description The Software Engineer II is an early- to mid-career contributor that has a combination of formal education and experience in the software engineering field. They are 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 maintain complete documentation. They support team members and ensure established goals and deadlines are met. They keep management informed of status and significant problems.   Software Engineer II Build Technology That Helps Learners Succeed We're looking for a Software Engineer who is passionate about building scalable, reliable, and modern software solutions that directly impact the student experience. You'll work alongside talented engineers, product partners, and architects to design, build, and evolve cloud-based applications that serve learners at scale. This role is ideal for engineers who enjoy solving complex technical challenges, improving system reliability, and delivering high-quality software while continuing to grow their expertise across modern technologies and architectural patterns. What You'll Do Design and Build Meaningful Software Develop and enhance web applications, APIs, and services that power critical business capabilities and improve customer experiences. Translate business and technical requirements into clean, maintainable, and scalable software solutions. Contribute across the software development lifecycle, from design and implementation through testing, deployment, and operational support. Drive technical solutions that balance performance, quality, security, and time-to-market. Own and Improve Systems Take ownership of features, services, and systems within your domain and help ensure their reliability, scalability, and maintainability. Participate in troubleshooting and root-cause analysis to rapidly identify and resolve production issues. Continuously improve system performance, observability, operational excellence, and developer productivity. Collaborate and Influence Partner with engineers, product managers, analysts, and operations teams to deliver valuable solutions. Help shape technical decisions through thoughtful design discussions and code reviews. Share knowledge, mentor peers, and contribute to a culture of engineering excellence and continuous learning. Build Quality In Develop automated testing strategies that maximize quality while enabling fast, reliable delivery. Apply engineering best practices including secure coding, code reviews, automated testing, and continuous integration. Identify technical risks, architectural concerns, and implementation gaps early, and propose practical solutions. What You'll Bring Technical Expertise Strong understanding of software engineering fundamentals including software design, algorithms, testing, security, and system architecture. Experience designing and implementing scalable, maintainable software using modern development practices. Ability to work across multiple technical domains including APIs, databases, distributed systems, and user-facing applications. Understanding of cloud-native architecture principles, including scalability, resiliency, observability, and cost optimization. Experience using metrics and operational data to improve application performance and reliability. Problem Solving & Engineering Mindset Ability to break down complex problems into elegant technical solutions. Strong troubleshooting and debugging skills with a focus on delivering reliable customer experiences. Curiosity to explore new technologies and continuously improve engineering practices. Ability to balance technical excellence with pragmatic delivery. Collaboration & Communication Effective communicator who can explain technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences. Strong team player who values collaboration, knowledge sharing, and collective success. Ability to identify risks, raise concerns proactively, and contribute constructively to technical discussions. Minimum Qualifications Education Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or a related field. Experience 3+ years of professional software development experience building web applications, APIs, and distributed services. 2+ years of experience with modern software development technologies including: Javascript TypeScript Node.