Senior Director, Engineering Operations & Platform

Alma is on a mission to simplify access to high-quality affordable mental health care. We do this by making it easy and financially rewarding for therapists to accept insurance and offer in-network care. When a provider joins Alma they gain access to a suite of tools that not only help them better run their business but also grow it sustainably and develop as a provider. Alma is available in all 50 states with over 20000 therapists in our growing network. Anyone looking for a therapist can browse Almas free directory. Alma has raised $220.5M in funding from Insight Partners Optum Ventures Tusk Venture Partners Primary Venture Partners First Round Capital Sound Ventures BoxGroup Cigna Ventures and Rainfall Ventures. Alma was also named one of Incs Best Workplaces in 2022 and 2023.

Almas Engineering and Product teams are on a transformative journey adopting and perfecting industry-proven practices such as Lean Dual-Track Agile DevOps Generative Culture and Transformational Leadership alongside scalable cloud methodologies like microservices and event streaming. Central to this evolution is our commitment to being AI-first strategically integrating artificial intelligence across our workflows to dramatically enhance speed quality and consistency. We need a leader to be the primary driver and orchestrator of this transformation while building a platform that accelerates our ability to deliver value to our customers.

Outcomes: How Well Define Success in the First 12 Months

This role is an engine of value accountable for tangible outcomes that will accelerate our technology organizations performance. The Senior Director Engineering Operations & Platform will own the following key results:

1. Increased Developer Productivity & Satisfaction: You will lead the charge in evolving our platform to be a force multiplier for engineering and product teams. This will be measured by at least a 20% increase in developer productivity (as shown by a significant improvement in metrics: Lead Time Deployment Frequency Velocity Change Failure Rate and MTTR) and a rise in our internal developer satisfaction scores. This includes driving the pervasive adoption of practices like shift-left on quality and tools with a strong emphasis on leveraging AI-powered solutions to dramatically increase productivity consistency and quality.
2. Optimized Infrastructure & Operational Excellence: You will lead strategic cost optimization projects related to our software and infrastructure leveraging data and AI-driven insights to achieve a more balanced expense base. This will be measured by a reduction in infrastructure and software costs as a percentage of our engineering budget. This outcome requires you to oversee the operational aspects of our new architectural rollout ensuring a smooth and successful adoption that demonstrably improves speed quality and scalability.
3. Widespread Adoption of an AI-First & Data-Driven Culture: You will be a champion for a generative culture helping embed high expectations and accountability across the department. Success is the pervasive department-wide adoption of our AI-first approach and a data-driven mindset. You will accomplish this by running specific high-impact projects leading change management for key transformations and ensuring accountability through transparent communication and a unified departmental scorecard. Your success here will be measured by the rate of AI tool adoption and the widespread use of DORA metrics and other KPIs to inform decisions.
4. Strategic & Operational Orchestration: You will act as a force multiplier for the CTO orchestrating internal engineering and product excellence. This means owning and driving the strategic roadmap for platform and internal initiatives ensuring they are aligned with overall company objectives and that all critical workflows and processes are documented and scalable. You will effectively manage and influence stakeholders at all levels from individual contributors to executive leadership to ensure alignment and buy-in for our strategic goals.

What youll do:

• Direct Leadership: Directly manage the Infra and DevX platform teams ensuring they are well-resourced high-performing and delivering foundational capabilities that accelerate product development. You will also guide the potential future build-out of a software platform group.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Collaborate closely with Engineering InfoSec IT and Product peers to ensure cohesive and integrated strategies. You will draft and present compelling platform strategies roadmaps and progress to various stakeholders from individual contributors to executive leadership.
• Culture & Skill Development: Organize and drive departmental activities that contribute to skill development and team cohesion such as training and knowledge-sharing sessions specifically on AI tools and best practices.
• Financial & Resource Analysis: Analyze software budgets and project costs to identify opportunities for efficiency and cost reduction proposing AI-driven solutions where appropriate.

Who you are:

Your ability to achieve these outcomes will depend on a specific set of capabilities not just a list of skills.

• Strategic & Transformational Leadership: You have a track record of defining a clear vision and leading scaled organizational and technical transformations. You are a practitioner of Transformational Leadership and Generative Culture with demonstrated success in implementing Shift Left principles across quality architecture and security.
• Deep Technical and Operational Expertise: You possess a deep understanding and practical experience with modern software development lifecycle practices including Lean Dual-Track Agile DevOps continuous delivery and scalable cloud technologies. You have proven experience leading multiple teams and driving operational excellence. You have either led platform teams (Infrastructure Developer Experience etc.) or have deep experience using and adopting platforms on your teams.
• Data-Driven Influence & Accountability: You are highly analytical and data-driven with demonstrated success in defining tracking and acting upon key engineering metrics like DORA metrics. You have exceptional communication skills with a track record of fostering accountability and influencing stakeholders across the organization to achieve shared goals.
• AI-First Mindset & Implementation: You have a demonstrated history of identifying deploying and driving the pervasive adoption of new tools with a strong emphasis on leveraging and maximizing the utility of AI-powered solutions across groups of engineers.

Benefits:

• Were a remote-first company
• Health insurance plans through Aetna (medical and dental) and MetLife (vision) including FSA and HSA plans
• 401K plan (ADP)
• Lifestyle Spending Account for health wellness and family care
• Monthly co-working space membership stipend
• Monthly work-from-home stipend
• Financial wellness benefits through Northstar
• Pet discount program through United Pet Care
• Financial perks and rewards through PerkSpot
• EAP access through Aetna
• One-time home office stipend to set up your home office
• Inclusive family and medical leave plans
• 12 paid holidays and 1 Alma Give Back Day
• Flexible PTO

Salary Band: $260000 - $290000

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