Senior Director, Benefits Engineering

Overview:

WEX is an innovative payments and technology company looking to forge the way in a rapidly changing environment, intending to simplify the business of doing business for our customers, freeing them to spend more time, with less worry, on the things they love. We are journeying to build a consistent world-class user experience across our products and services and leverage customer-driven innovation across all our strategic initiatives. 

Job Profile Summary:

WEX is on a mission to simplify the business of running a business, and our Benefits Technology team is at the forefront of this effort. We're seeking a passionate and driven Senior Director of Software Engineering to lead the charge in developing and delivering innovative SaaS solutions that transform the health benefits experience for our customers. This is a high-impact role where you will have the opportunity to shape the future of our technology, build and mentor high-performing teams, and drive operational excellence. This role serves as a strategic and execution-oriented leader within the Benefits Technology domain. This role holds the accountability of overseeing the comprehensive software development lifecycle, requiring a demonstrated history of delivering adaptable, contemporary, and sturdy SaaS solutions within the Health Benefits sector.

As a pivotal member of the Benefits Technology domain, this role assumes the responsibility of driving the diversification of Health Benefits products. The incumbent will be instrumental in formulating and executing the software development strategy, aiming to ensure scalable, secure, innovative, interoperable, and reusable components. By leveraging your understanding of software architecture and cutting-edge technologies, you will establish and guide a dynamic team dedicated to fostering innovation, optimizing development processes, and guaranteeing the seamless integration of digital solutions for the WEX Benefits business.

Your ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams will be critical in developing and introducing novel software solutions to customer segments, ultimately streamlining their business operations.

Responsibilities:

• Lead and Inspire Engineering Teams: Cultivate a thriving engineering culture by providing strong leadership, mentorship, and guidance to multiple software engineering teams. Empower engineers to excel through a collaborative, supportive, and results-oriented environment that encourages innovation and professional growth.

• Drive Product Development Excellence: Take ownership of the full software development lifecycle for a portfolio of benefits platform services. Collaborate closely with product managers, architects, and cross-functional teams to define product roadmaps, prioritize features, and ensure the timely delivery of high-quality software that meets customer needs and business objectives.

• Champion Quality and Engineering Best Practices: Establish and maintain rigorous quality standards throughout the software development process. Promote the adoption of industry best practices, including coding standards, modern DevOps practices (CI/CD, automated testing), and cloud-native architecture patterns, to ensure the delivery of reliable, secure, and scalable solutions.

• Optimize for Scalability and Performance: Collaborate closely with architects to ensure systems are designed and implemented for optimal scalability and performance. Anticipate future needs and challenges in the evolving healthcare benefits landscape, proactively addressing potential bottlenecks and ensuring a seamless user experience.

• Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration: Build strong relationships and effectively collaborate with stakeholders across the organization, including product management, operations, security, and other business units. Ensure alignment between technology initiatives and business goals, effectively communicating technical concepts and trade-offs to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Manage Risk and Ensure Compliance: Proactively identify and mitigate technical risks throughout the software development lifecycle. Stay informed about industry regulations and security standards, ensuring that all solutions are compliant and meet the highest security requirements.

• Drive Operational Efficiency and Continuous Improvement: Oversee resource planning, staffing, and budgeting for the engineering teams under your leadership. Continuously evaluate and optimize development processes, tools, and methodologies to enhance efficiency, productivity, and team morale.

• Cultivate a Culture of Learning and Growth: Encourage a growth mindset within the engineering teams, promoting continuous learning and development opportunities. Support engineers in expanding their skill sets, staying abreast of industry trends, and contributing to a culture of knowledge sharing and innovation.

• Be a Champion for Change: Embrace and drive change within the organization, advocating for the adoption of new technologies, methodologies, and processes that enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the engineering teams.

• Communicate with Impact: Clearly and effectively communicate with team members, stakeholders, and leadership, providing regular updates on project progress, risks, and achievements. Foster transparent and open communication channels to ensure everyone is informed and aligned.

• Strategic Leadership: Develop and implement a comprehensive software engineering strategy aligned with business objectives, fostering innovation and ensuring technological excellence.

• Technical Expertise: Stay abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies and ensure the adoption of best practices in software development, including coding standards, modern DevOps practices, and cloud architecture patterns.

Job Requirements:

• Bachelor's or Master’s (Preferred) degree in software engineering, computer science, or a related field; Master's degree preferred.

• 12+ years of experience in software engineering, with a minimum of 7 years in a leadership role managing multiple engineering teams.

• Demonstrated experience in leading and managing the full software development lifecycle for complex SaaS solutions, preferably in the healthcare or benefits industry.

• Strong technical background with deep expertise in software development methodologies (Agile), modern architectures (microservices, cloud-native), and programming languages (Java, .NET, Python, etc.).

• In-depth knowledge of SaaS platforms, security standards, high-availability architectures, and regulatory compliance requirements.

• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate high-performing teams.

• Results-oriented with a strong track record of delivering high-quality, scalable software solutions on time and within budget.

• Proficiency in agile methodologies, project management frameworks, and modern software development tools.

• Experience with developing enterprise-grade applications that handle large volumes of data and complex business logic.

• Passion for and understanding of AI/ML technology, from development to production at a product level required.

• Experience in building an ecosystem of interoperable business components in a SaaS offering required.

• Proven experience as a software engineering leader in modern cloud-native technologies required.

• Strong technical background with expertise in software development methodologies, modern architectures, AI-Driven SDLC, and programming languages required.

• Demonstrated success in leading and motivating high-performing engineering teams required.

• In-depth knowledge of SaaS platforms, security standards, high-availability standards, and regulatory compliance required.

• Strategic thinker with excellent communication and interpersonal skills required.

• Results-oriented with a focus on delivering high-quality, scalable software solutions required.

• Excellent leadership and communication skills with a track record of building and managing successful engineering teams required.

• Proficiency in agile methodologies and modern software development tools required.

• Experience with developing enterprise and consumer products that generate large volumes of data required.

• Effective communication and project management skills with the ability to influence, build consensus, and effectively work within a diverse, global organization required.

• Proven track record of delivering and managing interval-oriented budgets required.

Role Competencies:

• Strategic Thinking: Ability to align technology initiatives with broader business objectives and contribute to the strategic direction of the Benefits Technology domain.

• Execution: Proven ability to deliver results, meet deadlines, and exceed expectations in a fast-paced environment.

• Change Leadership: Embrace and drive change, adapting quickly to new technologies and market demands.

• Digital/Technology Literacy: Deep understanding of current and emerging technologies and their potential impact on the business.

• Talent Management and Culture Development: Ability to build, develop, and retain high-performing engineering teams, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Strong interpersonal and communication skills to effectively collaborate with diverse stakeholders across the organization.

• Functional Expertise: Possesses the technical knowledge and skills necessary to provide guidance and make informed decisions.

• WEX Leadership Behaviors: Exhibits WEX's leadership behaviors: builds bridges to win, is a talent multiplier, inspires high standards, and adapts to rapid change.

• WEX Values: Demonstrates WEX Values: puts ingenuity to work, sticks to it, teams up, stays open, is a positive force, and acts with integrity.