Staff Software Engineer - Site Reliability

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
 

Grade: Technical 411

Pay Range: $157,000.00 - $243,400.00

Job Description

Who We Are

At Western Governors University (WGU), we’re reimagining education for the 21st century. As a nonprofit, accredited, online university serving over 150,000 students nationwide, our mission is to expand access to quality, affordable education for everyone. Our technology teams are at the heart of this mission—building innovative systems that empower students, faculty, and staff to succeed at scale.

We don’t just build software—we build the future of higher education.

 

The Opportunity

As a Staff Software Engineer at WGU, you’ll be a hands-on technical leader and innovator, shaping the architecture, performance, and scalability of systems that directly impact the learning journey of thousands of students. You’ll guide teams through complex challenges, mentor engineers, and pioneer new technologies and processes that make education more accessible and effective.

This role sits at the intersection of engineering excellence and social impact—ideal for someone who thrives in solving critical problems and designing systems that truly matter.

What You’ll Do

• Lead with expertise: Serve as a technical authority across multiple teams, setting the standard for engineering excellence and system design.
• Architect for scale: Design, build, and maintain enterprise-grade applications and services that support WGU’s growing digital ecosystem.
• Drive innovation: Identify emerging technologies and strategies to continuously evolve WGU’s platforms and infrastructure.
• Mentor and empower: Coach engineers across teams, elevate technical skills, and foster a collaborative, high-performing culture.
• Champion quality: Define and implement best practices for code quality, testing, automation, and system reliability.
• Ensure resilience: Drive operational excellence through scalable architecture, proactive risk mitigation, and performance optimization.
• Collaborate cross-functionally: Partner with product, data, and operations teams to translate vision into measurable, impactful outcomes.

What You Bring

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• Experience: 10+ years in software development, with proven success architecting and delivering large-scale, cloud-based applications.
• Technical Mastery: Deep hands-on experience with:
  • Java, RESTful APIs, Spring/Spring Boot
  • SQL and database design
  • Modern front-end frameworks (Angular 2+, React, or similar)
  • Version control (GIT) and CI/CD pipelines
  • AWS services and cloud architecture principles
• Leadership: Strong ability to guide teams, influence cross-functional decisions, and set technical direction.
• Mindset: A growth-oriented innovator who values clarity, mentorship, and building systems that scale with purpose.

Preferred Qualifications