Director, Software Engineering - Product Integration

Director, Software Engineering - Product Integration

Position Summary

Natera is at the forefront of personalized genetic testing, transforming the management of disease worldwide. As we scale our life-saving diagnostics, we are transforming our approach to software quality and reliability.

We are seeking a seasoned and visionary Director of Engineering, Product Integration to lead a newly formed Product Integration team. You will pivot our strategy from traditional, late-stage configuration testing to a proactive, end-to-end integration function that de-risks our most complex "Pillar" projects (e.g., LCGP, Signatera IVD).

This role requires a leader who is AI-native, hands-on, and high agency. You will not just manage a team; you will act as the "Integration Quarterback" for the engineering organization, defining the "Golden Paths" through our distributed architecture and driving an incremental, milestone-based validation strategy. You will live the ethos of agile, user-centered development, using modern tools to create massive leverage and ensure our software works seamlessly from order to report.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Vision

• Transform Integration Strategy: Lead the transition from the legacy "PSPC" model to a modern, risk-based integration strategy. Define a vision where testing is not a bottleneck but a continuous, value-added activity embedded in the development lifecycle.
• High Agency Execution: Champion a culture of urgency and ownership. Proactively identify integration risks during the design phase (shifting left) rather than waiting for code freeze.
• AI-Native Leverage: Pioneer the use of AI and LLMs to revolutionize testing. Implement strategies to auto-generate test cases from PRDs, use AI for intelligent log analysis and root cause detection, and dramatically increase team throughput.

Product Integration & Execution

• The "Quarterback" Model: Serve as the integration lead for major company initiatives. Partner with Solution Architects to define "Integration Milestones" and extract iterative builds from component teams to validate workflows progressively.
• End-to-End Ownership: Own the validation of critical business workflows across the full stack (Portal -> LIMS -> Lab Execution -> Bioinformatics -> Reporting). Ensure that the "Happy Path" is unbreakable and unhappy path supported. 
• User-Centered Validation: Go beyond spec compliance to verify the user experience. Ensure that the integrated system delivers the intended value to clinicians and patients, using realistic data that mirrors production complexity.
• Environment Strategy: Act as the gatekeeper for the Staging/Integration environments. Enforce strict configuration management and version control to ensure our test beds accurately reflect Production reality.

Team Building & Mentorship

• Build a High-Performance Team: Recruit and mentor a new breed of "Integration Leads"—technical, code-savvy individuals who understand microservices architecture and business logic equally well.
• Foster Innovation: Create an environment where the team is encouraged to experiment with new tools (e.g., chaos engineering, AI agents) to break the system before our users do.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of engineering experience, with at least 5 years in leadership roles managing complex software integration, QA, or SDET teams.
• Deep Technical Expertise: Strong background in testing distributed systems, microservices, and event-driven architectures (Kafka, AWS). You understand that "integration" means API contracts, data consistency, and system resilience.
• Transformation Experience: Proven track record of turning around underperforming testing functions or building "Zero-to-One" quality organizations in a rapid-growth environment.
• Regulated Industry Experience: Familiarity with healthcare standards (HIPAA, CLIA, FDA) is strongly preferred, but a demonstrated ability to bring rigor to complex regulated environments is essential.
• BS/MS in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• User-Centered: You obsess over the end-user experience. You understand that a passing API test is meaningless if the clinician can't view the report.
• High Agency: You don't wait for permission to f