Director, Software Development & Systems

At Short's Travel Management, we are a dynamic organization dedicated to being a leading provider of NCAA Athletic travel. As a leader in our field, we are looking to strengthen our team by adding a Director of Software Development & Systems who will drive innovation, support the growth of our technology infrastructure, and help shape our strategic IT direction. We have a great team culture where we genuinely enjoy who we work with. If you have senior level software development, system architecture or technology operations experience, this may be a great fit for you! This position may work remote 

What you can expect in this role:

To provide strategic leadership and operational excellence across software development and technology systems, ensuring scalable, reliable, and secure technology that enables business growth. This role combines hands-on leadership of internal software development with strategic oversight of 3rd party systems and integrations critical to the company’s operations.

Essential Functions:

• Drives operational excellence in software development by ensuring the department follows clear standards and processes, including agile practices, peer reviews, automated testing, and CI/CD pipelines.
• Aligns technology stack with business strategy by maintaining an up-to-date architectural roadmap aligned with business growth.
• Successfully initiates legacy modernization and key system upgrades.
• Ensure system reliability and performance by targeting 99.9% uptime on critical systems. Ensures efficient monitoring and incident response processes are in place.
• Ensures integration and 3rd party system optimization by ensuring that the key integration between internal system and 3rd party platforms are stable, secure and extendable. Identifies and addresses gap or failure points.
• Promotes talent development and team leadership roles. Strives for a 90% retention rate, provides clear career paths, coaching demonstrated by high engagement scores.
• Strives for internal and external client satisfaction and strong NPS ratings.
• We are a team at Short’s Travel Management and as such, you may be expected to assist in other departments or handle tasks outside of your typical position scope for the benefit of our clients or company. Other responsibilities as assigned. 

What great looks like:

• Hands-On Technical Leadership - Deep understanding of modern software development best practices, architecture, and system operations. Can dive into code, architecture diagrams, and system troubleshooting.
• Strategic Thinking & Systems View - Sees beyond daily operations to align technology decisions with long-term business goals. Thinks in terms of system reliability, scalability, and maintainability.
• Operational Discipline - Establishes and enforces processes, documentation standards, testing protocols, and reliable release pipelines.
• Change Management - Leads system upgrades, migrations, and operational improvements without disrupting the business. Communicates clearly across technical and non-technical teams.
• Ownership & Bias for Action - Operates with urgency, accountability, and solutions orientation. Doesn’t wait for direction - drives initiatives forward.
• Talent Development - Attracts, develops, and retains high-performing developers and system administrators. Builds a culture of accountability, continuous learning, and collaboration.
• Communication - Explains complex technical concepts in plain language to executives, stakeholders, and end-users. Communicates vision, progress, and risks proactively. 

Qualifications:

• 7-10+ yeas of professional experience in software development, systems architecture or technology operations.
• 4+ years in a technical leadership role managing software teams and systems.
• Experience leading both in-house development teams and managing 3rd party applications/integrations.
• Proves success in environments where technology is critical to operations, but teams are lean.

Technical Skills:

• Experience incorporating AI tools and agents into software development 
• Prior experience in travel, hospitality, or related service industries preferred
• Familiarity with travel reservation systems and GDS platforms preferred
• Understanding of travel data structures, PNRs, and booking processes preferred
• Experience with athletic department operations preferred
• MBA or technical master's degree
• ITIL, COBIT, CITM, CGEIT, or PMP certifications

Short’s Travel Management (STM) is a family-owned, women-owned, private corporation. We are sports travel experts specializing in team travel, recruiting travel, group hotels, bus charters and air charters servicing hundreds of athletic departments each year. We move more student athletes than any other travel management company. STM’s mission is to enhance the experience of getting there, being there, and coming home. When you win, we all win!

The STM team strives to drive innovation, provide excellent service, and display teamwork, passion and dedication throughout the lifetime of our relationships. STM works with clients to customize travel programs to create efficiencies and maximize the value of our products and services.

Compensation & Available Benefits:

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience
• Medical Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• 401(k) plan
• Paid Time Off

Short’s Travel Management is an EOE employer.

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S.

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