Software Development Leader

Job DetailsJob Location: Strongsville, OH 44136Job Category: Information TechnologyWe are seeking a hands-on software development leader to provide technical leadership, delivery alignment, and engineering consistency across all proprietary software development. This role is responsible for ensuring high-quality, scalable, and secure software solutions that support critical business operations while remaining actively engaged in system design and development.

The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader who works alongside development teams, contributing to architecture, solving complex technical problems, and improving delivery outcomes without introducing unnecessary process or management layers. This role operates within a lean organizational model and emphasizes execution, ownership, and practical engineering discipline.

This role also provides cross-team leadership, partnering closely with IT, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and business stakeholders to ensure alignment across systems and priorities. Exposure to or experience with AI-assisted development tools is strongly preferred, particularly in improving developer productivity, automation, and software quality.

 
Key Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership across multiple development teams without introducing unnecessary management layers
Actively participate in architecture, solution design, and complex development efforts
Serve as an escalation point for difficult technical and delivery challenges across teams
Ensure consistent, practical engineering standards across applications, integrations, and services
Drive improved delivery outcomes by identifying and removing cross-team friction
Establish and reinforce strong QA and testing practices, including automated testing, test coverage, and quality ownership within development teams
Partner closely with QA resources to improve defect prevention, testing efficiency, and release quality
Collaborate with DevOps to ensure effective CI/CD pipelines, deployment practices, and environment consistency
Participate in code reviews and guide technical decision-making for critical systems
Promote the use of AI-assisted development tooling to improve productivity, code quality, and delivery speed
Identify opportunities to automate development, testing, and operational workflows using AI or scripting approaches
Evaluate AI-generated outputs and ensure appropriate validation, security, and human oversight are maintained
Establish and maintain alignment with enterprise architecture, integration patterns, and platform standards
Partner with cybersecurity to ensure secure coding practices and timely remediation of vulnerabilities
Maintain accountability for application performance, reliability, and production support readiness
Work directly within development tools, platforms, and codebases when needed to support delivery
Partner with business and IT stakeholders to align development efforts with priorities and business outcomes
Track delivery effectiveness and apply lightweight metrics to improve execution without adding unnecessary process
Evaluate tools, platforms, and vendors that improve development efficiency or reduce operational complexity
Influence development practices across teams through hands-on engagement, not formal governance
Lead and mentor team leads and senior engineers, strengthening technical and leadership capabilities
Continuously experiment with emerging technologies, including AI, to improve engineering effectiveness
QualificationsRequired Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience)
8+ years of experience in software development or engineering roles
5+ years of experience in a senior technical or hands-on leadership role
Strong experience in application architecture, system design, and integrations
Proven ability to operate as a hands-on leader, not solely as a manager
Experience working across multiple development teams or complex delivery environments
Experience with QA/testing strategies, automation frameworks, and quality engineering practices
Experience working with DevOps practices, CI/CD pipelines, and deployment automation
Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to balance speed, quality, and simplicity
Experience collaborating with infrastructure, cybersecurity, and business stakeholders
Demonstrated curiosity and willingness to adopt modern development practices and tools, including AI

 
Preferred Qualifications

Experience leveraging AI-assisted development tools (e.g., code generation, testing, automation)
Experience with automation frameworks, CI/CD pipelines, and modern development tooling
Prior experience in financial services or other regulated industries
Experience improving development team performance without introducing heavy process or bureaucracy
Background in debugging complex distributed systems or integrations
Experience evaluati