Staff Software Engineer - Salesforce

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: $161,000.00 - $249,500.00 Job Description The Staff Software Engineer is a position of technical expertise, influence, and leadership in the technology realm. The position will be required to apply their expert knowledge to ensure best practices and well-engineered architecture across the department. They will also be a key stakeholder and initiator of major changes to processes, engineering practices, and system administration. This position will be required to work in a space of solving critical issues and initiatives across multiple teams. It will require an extensive and deep understanding of cutting-edge practices and innovative approaches to problems. Principal Software Engineers are also tasked with establishing and maintaining a positive and productive culture based on the WGU Leadership Principles.   As a Staff Software Engineer (Salesforce) , you’ll lead the evolution of WGU’s Salesforce ecosystem, shaping systems that power our student experience, enrollment processes, and operational excellence. This is a high-impact role where your technical leadership will directly improve the lives of thousands of students. Experience: 10+ years of software engineering experience, with deep hands-on expertise in Salesforce core engineering (Apex, SOQL, async patterns, integration architecture) — or equivalent depth in another enterprise stack (Java/Spring Boot, C#/.NET, or similar) with a demonstrated ability to ramp quickly onto Salesforce. What You'll Do Split time between hands-on engineering/mentoring within the team and serving as the Salesforce architects' implementation partner — turning architecture decisions for emerging platform capabilities (Data Cloud/Data 360, Agentforce, Marketing Cloud, Tableau Next) into working solutions Set automation, integration, security, and DevOps standards adopted across multiple teams, not just your own Own org-wide security posture and compliance-framework decisions for the platform (including FERPA-aware design) Govern enterprise data model decisions — cross-system data contracts, org split/merge strategy, legacy automation tech-debt strategy Lead architectural reviews and platform health assessments — governance-limit forecasting, remediation planning Mentor SE I/II/Senior engineers and shape technical direction through influence — no formal management/headcount responsibility Represent the technical perspective to non-technical stakeholders (Product, Operations, Academic leadership) and drive alignment on platform strategy What You Bring Required: 10+ years of software engineering experience with deep Salesforce core engineering expertise — or equivalent depth in another enterprise stack (Java, C#/.NET, or similar OOP + API-driven systems) with a track record of ramping quickly onto new platforms Mastery of async Apex / event-driven patterns at a governance level — choosing and standardizing approaches across teams, not just applying them Experience designing (not just building) multi-system integration architecture — API strategy, event-driven decisions, vendor evaluation Track record of setting technical standards adopted beyond your own team Deep understanding of security architecture and compliance frameworks in a regulated environment (FERPA or equivalent) Demonstrated ability to mentor and shape technical direction through influence Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences Comfort operating in ambiguity — partnering with architects on platform capabilities before established patterns exist Preferred: Application Architect or System Architect certification (or equivalent depth without the cert) Experience with Data Cloud, Agentforce, Marketing Cloud, or Tableau Next Experience with large-scale Salesforce orgs (100+ objects, 300+ automation components) Higher education or large-scale SaaS platform experience Experience with Copado (or equivalent) at the pipeline/governance level 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. This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requir