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Director Of Software Engineering and Architecture

Crystal City

At 2U, we are all in on purpose. We are motivated by our mission – to make learning limitless– and connected by our shared passion to deliver world-class higher education at scale. As the parent company of edX, a leading online learning platform, 2U powers thousands of  higher education offerings – from free courses to full degrees. Together with our college, university, and corporate partners, we are helping accelerate careers and transform lives. 

What We’re Looking For:

2U is looking for a highly technical, hands-on Director of Software Engineering with deep experience in modern cloud-native architectures, distributed systems, and full-stack platform development. This role combines technical leadership, architectural ownership, and delivery accountability across large-scale digital platforms supporting student/learner experience, applications, and data ecosystems.

This is not a traditional management-only role. You will operate as a player-coach, actively engaging in system design, architecture reviews, and technical decision-making while leading globally distributed engineering teams.

You will own both how systems are built and how they are delivered, ensuring scalable, secure, and high-performing platforms aligned with business outcomes. The ideal candidate has built and scaled complex systems, understands trade-offs deeply, and can drive end-to-end delivery with strong engineering rigor.

Responsibilities Include, But Are Not Limited To:

Engineering & Platform Leadership 

  • Own and drive the architecture and engineering strategy for scalable, cloud-native platforms across student/learner experience, applications, and data ecosystems.
  • Lead the design and evolution of systems using:
    • Backend: Python, Ruby on Rails, Clojure, or Elixir
    • Frontend: React, TypeScript, or HTML/CSS
    • Data: MySQL, PostgreSQL
  • Define and implement API-first, microservices, and event-driven architectures using modern design patterns.
  • Establish architectural standards across frontend, backend, and integrations, including scalability, resiliency, security, and performance optimization.
  • Drive build vs. buy vs. partner decisions, balancing speed, cost, and long-term platform ownership.
  • Ensure systems are designed for high availability, observability, and global scale.

Delivery, AI & DevOps Execution

  • Act as a hands-on technical leader across engineering and DevOps, owning how systems are designed, built, deployed, and operated
  • Lead architecture and design reviews, code quality, and resolution of complex production issues
  • Own end-to-end delivery and operations, including release cycles, system reliability, uptime, and performance
  • Drive DevOps practices across:
    • CI/CD: GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Argo
    • Containers: Docker, Kubernetes (EKS)
    • Infrastructure as Code: Terraform
    • Observability and monitoring
  • Lead and mentor teams, ensuring accountability for both delivery outcomes and production stability
  • Enable and guide adoption of AI/ML capabilities, including:
    • Integrating AI services, APIs, and intelligent workflows into platforms
    • Leveraging AI for automation, personalization, and engineering productivity (e.g., code generation, testing, operational insights)
  • Establish strong execution discipline through:
    • Definition of Ready / Done, sprint rigor, and release governance
    • Metrics such as velocity, cycle time, deployment frequency, MTTR, and uptime

Agile Leadership & Collaboration 

  • Work closely with engineering, product, partner operations, and data teams in Agile environments.
  • Translate long-term architectural vision into incremental, executable delivery plans.
  • Participate actively in PI planning, sprint reviews, and technical design forums.
  • Mentor senior engineers, tech leads, and solution architects.

Things That Should Be In Your Background:

  • 12–15+ years of progressive experience in software engineering, with 5+ years in leadership roles
  • Proven experience as a hands-on technical leader across engineering and DevOps
  • Strong expertise in at least one of the following in each area:
    • Languages: Python, TypeScript (Ruby, Clojure, or Elixir a plus)
    • Frontend: React ecosystem
    • Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL
    • OpenAI API (GPT models, embeddings, function calling), Azure OpenAI Service, Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex AI
  • Deep experience with AWS cloud ecosystem, Docker & Kubernetes (EKS), CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Argo), Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)
  • Experience designing and operating: Microservices architectures/Event-driven systems (Kafka or similar)
  • Proven experience owning production systems, uptime, and operational excellence

Other Attributes That Will Help You In This Role:

  • Experience in EdTech, Digital Media, eCommerce, or SaaS platforms
  • Experience building or scaling high-traffic, customer-facing platforms
  • Exposure to data platforms and event-driven data architectures
  • Experience modernizing legacy systems into cloud-native architectures
  • Experience working with global, distributed engineering teams
  • Experience with Scaled Agile (e.g., SAFe), PI Planning, and driving delivery predictability across multiple teams.

While this position is open to remote candidates across the U.S., we will prioritize those who live in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area and who are available to come into our Headquarters in Arlington, VA two days a week.

Benefits & Culture

Our global employee base is a diverse collection of innovators, dreamers, and doers working together to transform lives through higher education. We believe that every employee can advance our shared purpose, and that life at 2U should be fun and meaningful. If you’re excited by the opportunity to provide millions of learners and counting with access to world-class higher education, then join us – and do work that makes a difference. 

We offer comprehensive benefits (unique per country) and excellent work/life balance.
Full-time, U.S.benefits include: 

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Life insurance, disability, and 401(k) employer match

Free snacks and drinks in-office

Generous paid holidays and leave policies, including unlimited PTO

Additional time off benefits include: volunteer days, parental leave, and a company-wide winter break

The anticipated base salary range for this role is ($232,100 - $264,200), with potential bonus eligibility.  Salary offers are made based on the candidate’s qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, budget for the position and cost of labor in the market in which the candidate will be hired.

2U Diversity and Inclusion Statement

At 2U, we are committed to building and sustaining a culture of belonging, respect, and inclusion. We are proud of the steps we’ve taken to bring together an employee base that embodies diverse walks of life, ideas, genders, ages, races, cultures, sexual orientations, abilities and other unique qualities. We strive to offer a workplace where every employee feels empowered by what makes us different, as well as by how we are alike. 

2U is committed to providing reasonable accommodations during our recruitment process. If you need assistance or accommodations, please reach out to us at: recruitingaccommodations@2u.com. 

About 2U

2U partners with the world's top universities and companies to develop and deliver education programs that accelerate careers and transform lives. Through partnerships with the world’s leading colleges, universities, and companies, 2U delivers thousands of online programs to millions of learners worldwide on edX, its global learning platform. From executive education and professional credentialing to master’s degree programs and free, open courses, 2U transforms how top institutions deliver workforce-aligned online education, enabling professionals to advance without pausing their careers. Learn more at 2U.com.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by individuals assigned to this position, and are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required. All employees may be required to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities from time to time, as needed.

2U is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate against applicants or employees and ensures equal employment opportunity for all persons regardless of their race, creed, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, national origin, age, marital status, disability, citizenship, military or veterans’ status, or any other classifications protected by applicable federal, state or local laws. 2U’s equal opportunity policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including but not limited to recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, job benefits and pay.

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