Director, Software Engineering

About the National Hockey League

Founded in 1917, the National Hockey League (NHL®) is the premier professional ice hockey league in the world and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.

With more than 1500 employees across the US and Canada, the NHL is a global sports and entertainment organization committed to building healthy and vibrant communities using the sport of hockey.

What We Expect Of You

We are seeking an experienced Director of Software Engineering with strong expertise in API design and relational database modeling to join our team. You will be responsible for designing and implementing high‑performance backend services and RESTful APIs that power our consumer‑facing and internal applications. This role requires both technical excellence and leadership skills to mentor team members and drive architectural decisions.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Backend Development

• Develop high‑performance, scalable backend services using Java
• Write clean, maintainable, and well‑documented code
• Design and implement caching strategies for optimal performance
• Build robust error handling and logging mechanisms
• Ensure proficiency in unit and integration testing
• Deep understanding of native mobile and web multi‑tiered, distributed applications

API Design & Development

• Design and implement RESTful APIs following industry best practices and standards
• Create comprehensive API specifications using OpenAPI/Swagger
• Ensure API consistency, versioning strategies, and backward compatibility
• Implement and integrate OAuth 2.0 and SAML‑based authentication
• Establish and maintain API design guidelines and patterns for the engineering team
• Leverage CDNs for API scale and optimization (e.g., Cloudflare)
• Carefully craft API inputs/outputs to maximize CDN cache hit ratios
• Utilize API testing frameworks to ensure reliability and performance
• Experience with API performance monitoring and optimization

Leadership

• Mentor junior developers on API design principles and data modeling best practices
• Participate in code reviews and provide constructive feedback
• Lead technical design discussions and architectural decisions
• Contribute to technical documentation and knowledge sharing
• Collaborate with operational counterparts on observability metrics

Qualifications

Required

• 8+ years of backend development experience with at least 3 years focused on API design
• Strong understanding of RESTful principles, protocols, and web standards
• Proven track record of designing scalable, maintainable APIs

Preferred

• Experience with Apache Cayenne ORM framework
• Experience with Agrest REST API framework
• Knowledge of API gateway patterns and service mesh concepts
• Experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Bamboo, Kubernetes)
• Experience with data processing and analysis frameworks like Apache Spark Data Frame API, DFLib
• Familiarity with event‑driven architectures
• Contributions to open‑source projects
• Experience programming/scripting with Python
• Experience with cloud platforms (AWS), S3, Kinesis, Dynamo
• Apache Flink expertise

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent practical experience

Required Technical Skills

• Java: Strong proficiency in Java development with experience building enterprise‑grade applications
• MySQL: Hands‑on experience with MySQL (v. 8.0 and above), including performance optimization and query tuning
• Data Modeling: Proven experience with relational database design and data modeling best practices
• Git: Proficiency with Git version control, including branching strategies, merge conflict resolution, and collaborative workflows
• Maven: Strong experience with Maven for build automation, dependency management, and project lifecycle management
• Bamboo: Experience with Atlassian Bamboo for continuous integration and deployment pipelines
• JAX‑RS: Expertise in building RESTful web services using JAX‑RS
• Jackson API: Proficiency with Jackson for JSON processing and serialization
• POJO: Experience working with Plain Old Java Objects and understanding of object‑oriented design principles

Additional Skills

• Excellent problem‑solving skills and attention to detail
• Strong communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively in a team environment

Core Competencies

• Accountability
• Adaptability
• Communication
• Critical Thinking
• Inclusion
• Professionalism
• Teamwork & Collaboration

Benefits

• Paid Time Off (PTO) including holidays, vacation, personal and sick days, and an extra day off for your birthday
• Comprehensive health benefits with minimal cost to employees
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for mental, physical, and financial health
• Digital wellness resources focused on sleep, movement, and focus
• Childcare leave: up to 12 weeks paid for primary caregivers, up to 6 weeks for others
• 401K savings plan with employer contributions
• Hybrid work schedule available for most roles
• Access to a state‑of‑the‑art headquarters in New York
• Pre‑tax commuter benefit plan
• Partner discounts on travel, consumer goods, and NHL Store merchandise

Salary Range

$160,000 – $180,000

Actual base pay will be determined based on experience and market conditions.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.