Director of Software Engineering

Great Purpose. Great People. Great Opportunities.

At Imagine Learning, we Empower Potential - in students, educators, and each other. As the leading provider of digital-first K–12 curriculum solutions, we’re committed to igniting learning breakthroughs that spark curiosity, creativity, and confidence. Every day, our team designs innovative tools that help educators personalize instruction and engage students in meaningful ways. We’re shaping the future of learning through our Curriculum-Informed AI™ approach - technology that understands instructional context, respects educator judgment, and transforms how teachers personalize learning at scale to unlock each student’s potential. Together, we’re reimagining what’s possible and transforming education.

That same spirit of innovation and purpose drives our team culture. At Imagine Learning, you’ll find opportunities for meaningful work, continuous growth, and connection with passionate colleagues who care deeply about making a difference. We celebrate collaboration, embrace change, and believe in lifelong learning - for our students and ourselves.

As a remote-friendly company, Imagine Learning offers flexible work arrangements across the U.S. and internationally. Most of our U.S.-based employees work from home or on a hybrid schedule at one of our office locations in Tempe, AZ (HQ), Austin, TX, Petaluma, CA, Rock Rapids, IA, or Bloomington, MN.

Imagine Your Impact.

The Director of Software Engineering will build, lead, and scale this organization. This role will be critical for transforming to AI native engineering culture for courseware products, driving technical excellence, and delivering highly scalable and reliable Ed Tech products used by millions of learners. The Director must be a hands-on technical leader who has personally architected, developed, and shipped complex, high scale systems.

For more information on what it’s like to work at Imagine Learning, including our culture, benefits, and products, visit us HERE.

To learn more about a typical applicant journey at Imagine Learning, click HERE.

Position Information: This is a regular, full-time position, reporting to the Vice President of Engineering.

Compensation: Base pay is anticipated to be between $153,415.00 and $209,075.00 per year. Eligible employees may also receive incentive/commission/annual bonus pay based on individual and/or company performance. Compensation may vary based on factors such as, but not limited to, individual skills, experience, training, education/certifications, geographic location, internal equity, and local market conditions.

Location: In this US-based position your location will be remote.

Travel: You can also expect up to approximately 25% travel, so be sure you have a valid driver’s license and automobile insurance and a clean driving record for at least the preceding 39 months.

Benefits: Imagine Learning provides a comprehensive benefits program to eligible employees, including:

• Multiple health, dental, and vision plans, including medical plans with zero employee premiums
• 401k plan with a company match
• 16 paid holidays, which include 2 floating holidays and a winter shutdown from Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day
• Paid Time Off
• Comprehensive maternity and fertility/family building benefits
• Paid bonding leave when a new child joins your family
• Access to on-demand mental health resources
• Life and short and long-term disability insurance
• Pre-tax savings plans
• Paid volunteer time off
• A wide variety of professional development programs, including tuition reimbursement
• Work from home opportunities that foster work/life balance

Envision Your Experience.

In this role you’ll have the opportunity to:

• Mentors, and develops high-performing engineering teams, including engineering managers and senior ICs.
• Drive performance management, promotions, rewards, and organizational structure.
• Creates a culture of accountability, innovation, ownership, and continuous improvement.
• Direct a blended team of FTEs and contractors, managing budgets effectively while ensuring strong delivery metrics.
• Champions AI native software development in Courseware Products.
• Uses AI to modernize/refactor existing complex systems.
• Provides architectural leadership for building modern, scalable, secure, and resilient B2C products.
• Stay hands-on with code reviews, design reviews, and technical deep dives as needed.
• Drives technical decision-making, including tooling, frameworks, design patterns, and modernization.
• Ensures best practices in coding, testing, CI/CD, observability, reliability, and operational excellence.
• Translates business needs into clear technical requirements and execution plans.
• Ensures customer feedback and metrics and directly influences prioritization and solution design.
• Guides evaluation and improvement of both new and existing systems.
• Establishes engineering processes based on Agile and lean delivery methodologies.
• Ensures smooth delivery of features, releases, and ongoing platform enhancements.
• Maintains high standards for uptime, reliability, scalability, and platform health.
• Promotes best practices throughout the SDLC and champion engineering quality.
• Other duties as required.

Share Your Expertise.

Experience, education, and qualifications essential for success in this role, include:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science or technology and at least 14 years’ experience in software engineering, and at least 6 years in engineering management; or an acceptable combination of education and experience.
• Expertise in using Agentic AI in software development - Claude Code, GH Copilot.
• Proven experience architecting and developing high-scale, high-availability B2C applications.
• Proficiency in modern web development technologies, including: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, REST, Microservices, React, Java, C#, ASP.NET, .Net Core.
• Deep experience with databases: SQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, NoSQL: MongoDB, In-memory: Redist.
• Extensive experience developing and deploying on Amazon Web Services (AWS).
• Strong experience in LLM, MLOps, Data & AI platforms and operations.
• Domestic and international travel up to 25% required.

At Imagine Learning, we believe our work is strongest when people feel respected, supported, and encouraged to contribute their unique perspectives. We strive to create a welcoming workplace where employees can learn from one another, grow together, and build educational experiences that reflect the world of our learners.

Imagine Learning is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing equal employment and advancement opportunities to qualified individuals. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, transgender status (including whether or not you are transitioning or have transitioned), sexual orientation, marital status, religion (including religion dress and grooming practices), age 40 and over, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information (including results of genetic testing and characteristics), veteran and/or military status, or service in the military, and any other basis or status protected under applicable federal, state, or local laws. 

To all recruitment agencies: Imagine Learning does not accept agency resumes. Please do not submit candidates for consideration via our online application system, to Imagine Learning employees, or to any other organization location. Imagine Learning is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.