Lead Software Engineer

Lead Software Engineer

The Lead Software Engineer is a hands-on technical leader responsible for driving the full-stack design, development, and delivery of software solutions across one or more small, high-velocity engineering teams. This role operates above the Senior Software Engineer level and blends deep engineering excellence with a modern AI-first mindset — including the ability to rapidly prototype with tools like Claude, Amazon Bedrock, and other GenAI platforms to accelerate team output and innovation.

Technical Leadership

• Lead architectural and technical design decisions for features, services, or platforms.
• Decompose epics and features into technical implementation plans with clear ownership.
• Review and approve technical designs, code changes, and pull requests.
• Identify technical risks, dependencies, and trade-offs; propose mitigation strategies.
• Drive root-cause analysis and resolution of complex production issues.

Full-Stack & Cross-Platform Development

• Design, develop, test, and deploy full-stack applications across the core stack: React / TypeScript (web), Flutter / Dart (mobile & cross-platform), and Python / Node.js (backend).
• Build and maintain scalable REST and GraphQL APIs using AWS API Gateway + Lambda.
• Implement CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code (AWS CDK / SAM), and blue/green deployment strategies.
• Ensure production readiness through observability, automated testing, and monitoring

AWS Serverless Architecture (Core Competency)

• Lead design and delivery of event-driven, serverless-first architectures on AWS. Deep hands-on expertise across:
• Compute: Lambda, Step Functions
• Data: DynamoDB (primary), S3, Aurora Serverless
• Messaging & Events: SQS, SNS, EventBridge
• API & Auth: API Gateway, Cognito, AppSync
• Observability: CloudWatch, X-Ray
• Infrastructure as Code: CDK, SAM, CloudFormation

AI-Assisted Engineering & Rapid Prototyping

• Rapidly prototype new product concepts using Claude, Amazon Bedrock, and other LLM/Gen AI platforms.
• Apply AI-assisted development tools to accelerate code generation, testing, documentation, and code review.
• Evaluate AI-generated outputs for correctness, security, and production readiness.
• Define team-level standards and best practices for AI tool adoption.
• Demonstrate ability to ideate → prototype → validate → ship in tight cycles to support fast-moving engineering teams.

Team Leadership

• Serve as the technical anchor for a small, high-velocity scrum team — guiding direction, coaching engineers, and driving accountability.
• Partner with Product Managers, Architects, and QA to align technical direction with organizational goals.
• Mentor senior, mid-level, and junior engineers on design, cloud practices, and AI tool usage.
• Promote a culture of quality, continuous improvement, and learning.

Who You Are

• Bachelor's degree and 6 years' experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master's degree and 4 years' experience; a Ph.D. and 1 year of experience; or 18 years 'experience in a related field.
• True full-stack fluency across web (React/TypeScript), mobile/cross-platform (Flutter/Dart), and backend (Python or Node.js).
• Minimum 2 years of hands-on AWS serverless experience.
• Demonstrated experience with CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code, and serverless deployment patterns.
• Proven track record of rapid prototyping with AI/GenAI tools in a professional setting.
• Experience leading technical initiatives and mentoring small engineering teams.
• Understanding of prompt engineering, context management, and AI tool limitations.
• Availability for rotational on-call duties outside of standard business hours may be required.

Drug Testing

To be employed in this role, you'll need to clear a pre-employment drug test. Cox Automotive does not currently administer a pre-employment drug test for marijuana for this position. However, we are a drug-free workplace, so the possession, use or being under the influence of drugs illegal under federal or state law during work hours, on company property and/or in company vehicles is prohibited.

Benefits

The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company's needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.

About Us

Through groundbreaking technology and a commitment to stellar experiences for drivers and dealers alike, Cox Automotive employees are transforming the way the world buys, owns, sells – or simply uses – cars. Cox Automotive employees get to work on iconic consumer brands like Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book and industry-leading dealer-facing companies like vAuto and Manheim, all while enjoying the people-centered atmosphere that is central to our life at Cox. Benefits of working at Cox may include health care insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement planning (401(k)), and paid days off (sick leave, parental leave, flexible vacation/wellness days, and/or PTO). For more details on what benefits you may be offered, visit our benefits page. Cox is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer – All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual's age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law. Cox provides reasonable accommodations when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with disability, unless such accommodations would cause an undue hardship.EOE, including disability/vets