Vice President, Software Engineering and Development

Role Description

The Vice President of Software Engineering and Development leads high-performing teams across engineering, QA, DevOps, Application Support, and data architecture for the assigned line of business. This role partners closely with product, technology, and business leaders to deliver scalable, secure, and high-quality software solutions. The VP drives operational efficiency through lean practices, automation, and data-driven metrics, and operationalizes AI by establishing governance, delivery patterns, and platform capabilities that move pilots into production with measurable business outcomes. This role influences enterprise technology strategy and fosters alignment across IT to deliver scalable, secure, and innovative solutions. This position reports to the SVP of Software Engineering and Development for the assigned line of business.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in software engineering with 5+ years leading multi-team organizations.
• Proven success leading distributed teams at scale.
• Expertise in agile delivery, engineering metrics, and continuous improvement.
• Hands-on understanding of CI/CD, test automation, infrastructure as code, and quality assurance practices.
• Experience operationalizing AI and data-driven engineering practices in production.
• Familiarity with SRE and FinOps practices.
• Experience leading platform upgrade or platform migration initiatives.
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and decision-making skills.
• Demonstrated ability to influence enterprise-level technology decisions and build consensus across diverse stakeholders.
• Proficiency in modern frameworks and at least one major language such as C# or Java.

Requirements

• Attract, develop, and retain diverse, high-performing engineering, QA, DevOps, data, and architecture teams.
• Set clear goals and succession plans, and foster accountability, learning, and psychological safety.
• Model leadership behaviors that elevate engagement, inclusion, and performance.
• Promote a culture of continuous learning and inclusive leadership across all levels.
• Improve time to value using lean value-stream practices and a standard metric set.
• Apply SRE practices for reliability, observability, incident response, and post-incident learning.
• Standardize tools and automation to reduce toil and raise developer productivity.
• Champion quality assurance practices to ensure software products meet rigorous standards.
• Strengthen onboarding processes for new associates and consultants.
• Promote continuous learning and upskilling through targeted enablement programs.
• Ensure consistent agile execution with clear sprint and release commitments across multiple teams.
• Institutionalize feedback loops and retrospectives that inform capacity planning and roadmaps.
• Advance engineering excellence including test automation, CI/CD, infrastructure as code, and quality engineering.
• Promote a metrics-driven culture that uses data to guide roadmap sequencing, capacity planning, and risk management.
• Lead Developer Experience (DevEx) across the technology organization.
• Translate prioritized business problems into AI roadmaps with defined success metrics and value targets.
• Govern data privacy, responsible AI, and model risk in partnership with Risk, Security, and Compliance.
• Scale repeatable AI patterns into production and ensure alignment with business outcomes and compliance standards.
• Foster a culture of experimentation and innovation across teams.
• Evaluate and pilot new AI capabilities, tools, frameworks, and platforms.
• Monitor emerging technologies and trends to identify opportunities for strategic adoption.
• Guide development of scalable, maintainable platforms aligned to enterprise architecture.
• Drive reuse through standards and shared components to reduce complexity and cost.
• Lead ongoing platform transformation initiatives that support long-term scalability and resilience.
• Ensure compliance with SOC-aligned controls and internal governance standards.
• Embed secure development lifecycle practices with clear vulnerability remediation SLAs.
• Protect confidential data with proper handling to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure.
• Collaborate with Security and Risk teams to proactively identify and mitigate threats.
• Own budget planning and forecasting, and manage capacity to plan.
• Manage vendor performance and contracts to outcomes.
• Present portfolio health and value delivery to senior stakeholders.
• Align financial decisions with long-term technology strategy and operational efficiency goals.
• Align with Product on outcome-based roadmaps and prioritization.
• Support RFPs and key client engagements as the primary IT contributor.
• Share best practices and drive alignment across IT.
• Represent technology leadership in client-facing discussions.
• Responsible for protecting, securing, and proper handling of all confidential data.
• Hire, coach, and develop associates and leaders with clear growth plans.
• Provide ongoing feedback and ensure succession coverage for critical roles.
• Model leadership behaviors that reflect Ascensus Core Values.
• Ensure team structure supports scalability, agility, and cross-functional collaboration.

Benefits

• 401(k) match
• Medical, Dental, Vision
• Paid-Time-Off

Company Description

Ascensus is the leading independent technology and service platform powering savings plans across America, providing products and expertise that help nearly 16 million people save for a better today and tomorrow.