Senior Engineering Director, Work - based Learning

Senior Engineering Director

College Board is a mission-driven, not-for-profit organization working to clear a path for all students to own their futures. We are expanding our impact beyond access to higher education, helping students develop the skills, experiences, and confidence they need to thrive in college, career, and life. Each year, we serve more than 7 million students, building opportunity at scale in a rapidly changing world. We are launching a new exploratory effort to design and scale innovative ways for students to build durable skills, the collaboration, problem-solving, and communication abilities that employers value and that students carry with them for life. Our team is in an exciting build phase, shaping the technology, people, and processes that will bring this program to life. We're assembling a cross-functional group of designers, engineers, product managers, and researchers who thrive on solving meaningful problems. Together, we're building tools that: Help teachers guide students through real-world, employer-driven projects Enable students to practice and strengthen durable, transferable skills while building professional connections Make it easier for employers to engage with future talent and invest in their communities This work sits at the intersection of education and the workforce, translating our mission into experiences that prepare every student to succeed in whatever path they choose. You'll be part of a team creating something new: a program that brings the world of work into schools and helps students develop the skills that last a lifetime.

In this role, you will serve as the Senior Engineering Director for our Product Team. You will lead the engineers building a nationwide Work-Based Learning program to reach tens of thousands of students. Alongside a Tech Lead, Product Manager and Product Designer you will empower educators, engage business partners, and foster student learning. You will enable the programs long-term scale by defining technical strategies, establishing engineering practices, and growing a high-performing engineering team. This is a rare opportunity to lead both the technical foundation and the human engine of a mission-driven educational initiative, backed by the vision and national reach of the College Board.

In this role, you will:

• Provide technical leadership to the team (40%) Sort through options for solutioning, leveraging your own technical expertise. With senior engineers on the team, in partnership with the product owner and designer, craft and execute a technology strategy to deliver on the product roadmap. Continue to learn and stay current with the state of software engineering sharing that knowledge within the team to support best practices. Review and occasionally write code yourself using preferred technologies including TypeScript, React, NodeJS. Manage scope and actively work against developing technical debt. Monitor and manage costs, working with internal resources to optimize the cost and performance of applications. Approach every feature with a security-sensitive perspective.
• Build a highly engaged, and high-performing team (30%) Cultivate norms that support strong communication, a positive working culture, and an engaged team. Define ceremonies that support your high-performing Agile team, while maximizing productive work time. Actively cultivate the superpowers of team members and leverage these to develop products. Support diversity and inclusion from the perspectives of demographics, skills, and experience. Manage work culture to ensure the mission and operating principles of College Board are consistently recognized and utilized to promote a productive and fair work environment. Support and invest in the growth of your team members, which will range from junior to senior engineers.
• Interface with business partners and technology colleagues (30%): Develop deep understanding of the business needs your team serves to provide thought leadership and consistent messaging around the work of the team. Develop strong working relationships with business and product partners to understand the nuances of the complex systems supported by your product. Manage scope and workload, working with product owners to deliver the most valuable work first. Partner with the product designer to ensure usable, human-centered implementations of new products and features. Provide subject matter expertise to other teams and support with resources from your own team as appropriate.

About you, you have 7 years' experience in Agile software application development, applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to a broad range of life-cycle activities to meet the requirements for highly secure, data-heavy applications. Proven expertise delivering web-based products or platform-level features in cloud-first environment using modern development tools. Written and reviewed production code using preferred technologies: TypeScript/JavaScript, Node.js, React. Ability to design and evaluate AWS-based architectures with best practices. Experience managing teams of 4 to 8 direct reports, including both junior-level and higher-level individual contributors. Accountability for the technical output of the team, either through personal experience or strong communication with engineers. Experience overseeing product or platform features, infrastructure, and vendor management, ensuring compliance with internal policies. Comprehensive experience in all aspects of people management, including hiring, engaging, and developing team members, with a proven track record of successful leadership. Experience leading engineering and architecture discussions, bringing stakeholders to agreement. Exceptional planning, prioritization, and execution skills, delivering results on time and on budget in fast-paced environments. Experience establishing new teams and laying foundation for new products, ideally within a large organization. Outstanding communication and leadership abilities, building trust quickly across teams and levels, and effectively coaching team members with timely, balanced feedback. Able to travel 3-5 times a year to our NYC or Reston, VA office Authorization to work in the United States for any employer All roles at College Board require: A passion for expanding educational and career opportunities and mission-driven work Curiosity and enthusiasm for emerging technologies, with a willingness to experiment with and adopt new AI-driven solutions and a comfort learning and applying new digital tools independently and proactively. Clear and concise communication skills, written and verbal A learner's mindset and a commitment to growth: welcoming diverse perspectives, giving and receiving timely, respectful feedback, and continuously improving through iterative learning and user input. A drive for impact and excellence: solving complex problems, making data-informed decisions, prioritizing what matters most, and continuously improving through learning, user input, and external benchmarking. A collaborative and empathetic approach: working across differences, fostering trust, and contributing to a culture of shared success.

Application review will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. This role is expected to accept applications for a minimum of 5 business days. While the hiring process may vary, it generally includes: resume and application submission, recruiter phone/video screen, hiring manager interview, performance exercise such as live coding, a panel interview, a conversation with leadership and reference checks.

What We Offer At College Board, we offer more than just a paycheck-we provide a meaningful career, a supportive team, and a comprehensive package designed to help you thrive. We're a self-sustaining nonprofit that believes in fair and competitive compensation, grounded in your qualifications, experience, impact, and the market. A Thoughtful Approach to Compensation The hiring range for this role is $170,000 - $195,000 Your exact salary will depend on your location, experience, and how your background compares to others in similar roles at the College Board. We adjust salaries by location to ensure fairness, no matter where you live. You'll have open, transparent conversations about compensation, benefits, and what it's like to work at College Board throughout your hiring process.