Director, Software Engineering (Remote Work Option)

Open to remote work except in South Dakota Vermont and West Virginia.

Information about benefits can be found here.

Who Youll Work With

Nikes mission to serve athletes* is powered by the relentless pursuit of innovation through data and technology. Within this vision the Data & AI (DAI) team stands at the forefront designing and building secure intelligent and highly scalable platforms. These platforms empower Nike to make informed decisions and deliver personalized seamless experiences for millions of users worldwide.

Who We Are Looking For

We seek a visionary and strategic engineering leader with a deep background in software development and team leadership. The ideal candidate brings over 12 years of hands-on experience in software development with a robust foundation in distributed systems cloud-native architectures artificial intelligence and machine learning systems and data addition you will have a minimum of 5 years leading engineering teams demonstrating a strong track record in hiring exceptional talent mentoring individuals and fostering professional growth. You thrive in dynamic collaborative environments and have consistently delivered reliable high-impact data platforms and services at scaledriving initiatives that make a global impact.

What Youll Work On

• Take the lead in managing and growing multiple software engineering teams dedicated to architecting developing and maintaining robust data platforms and enterprise-scale services.

• Champion the design and implementation of software development kits (SDKs) application programming interfaces (APIs) and microservices that address complex data and analytics needs across the organization.

• Forge strong partnerships with product managers architects and engineering leaders to develop and execute a forward-thinking technical roadmap that supports Nikes business objectives.

• Maintain a high bar for engineering excellence by enforcing best practices in software development data governance and observability across all teams.

• Foster a culture of innovation continuous learning and improvement encouraging teams to adopt new technologies patterns and engineering approaches. Be a mentor to teams and set high standards for engineering excellence.

• Ensure that all engineering initiatives are strategically aligned with Nikes broader goals including modernization optimizing cloud costs and upholding robust data governance standards.

• Provide transparent and regular updates to senior leadership on team progress challenges encountered and measurable outcomes achieved ensuring accountability and visibility.

• Embrace and embody Nikes core values (maxims) in your work and interactions with peers stakeholders and direct reports. Model clarity and accountability as a leader of Nike. Communicate effectively build trust and strong relationships across the company do the right thing.

Skillset Required

• PhD Masters or Bachelors degree in Computer Science Software Engineering or related field. Will accept any suitable combination of education experience and training.

• A proven technical leader with deep knowledge and experience in delivering production grade software at scale. Able to dive deep into code and architecture to provide an informed opinion on benefits/trade-offs of different design choices.

• At least 12 years of experience in software development with a strong foundation in distributed systems cloud-native architectures and data platforms.

• More than 5 years of hands-on leadership experience directing engineering teams with concrete success in hiring top talent mentoring team members and fostering their professional growth and development.

• Expertise in at least one leading cloud platform such as AWS Azure Google Cloud Platform (GCP) or Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) with a thorough understanding of their ecosystem and capabilities.

• Extensive practical experience with state-of-the-art technologies in the AIML space fluency in open-source technologies and impact of standardized platforms. Ability to make build versus buy decisions for AIML tools and technologies.

• A strong grasp of data pipeline frameworks in-depth knowledge of metadata management and comprehensive understanding of data governance controls to ensure data quality security and compliance.

• A strong familiarity with agentic workflow and current developments in the AI/LLM application landscape.

• A proven track record of delivering services and solutions that are both scalable and high-impact addressing business-critical needs with reliability and efficiency.

• Exceptional communication skills enabling effective collaboration across diverse teams and excellent stakeholder management to build consensus and drive initiatives forward.

• Well-developed strategic thinking skills with the ability to translate overarching business strategies into actionable measurable engineering objectives that guide technical work.

• A demonstrated ability to inspire and motivate others driving positive change in the areas of solution architecture technical delivery and ongoing process improvement.

• A passionate lifelong learner who actively seeks out and embraces new technologies development patterns and best practices always striving to stay ahead of industry trends.

• Experience operating within large complex organizations or under scaled Agile methodologies adapting to evolving requirements and delivering high-value outcomes in such environments.

We offer a number of accommodations to complete our interview process including screen readers sign language interpreters accessible and single location for in-person interviews closed captioning and other reasonable modifications as needed. If you discover as you navigate our application process that you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability please complete the Candidate Accommodation Request Form.