The posting
JOIN THE BEST TEAM IN SPORT & SPIRIT
At Varsity Brands, we believe every student deserves the opportunity to succeed and every educator wants to make a difference. It takes a team to make a real impact, and through our two divisions – BSN SPORTS and Varsity Spirit – and our network of 6,000+ employees and independent representatives, we are proud to partner with a wide range of educational institutions and club and professional sports to transform the student journey in SPORT and SPIRIT.
LOCATION: Onsite 5 days per week - Farmers Branch TX
Varsity Brands is building a modern, unified technology ecosystem that powers the full experience of sport and spirit through scalable applications, cloud-native platforms, and modern engineering practices. Backend software engineering plays a critical role in enabling enterprise applications, digital products, operational workflows, and shared platform capabilities that support business growth, customer experience, and operational excellence.
HOW YOU WILL MAKE AN IMPACT:
The Director, Software Engineering is responsible for leading the engineering organization that designs, builds, delivers, and supports scalable backend software solutions supporting enterprise applications and digital products. This leader oversees engineering managers, Lead Software Engineers, and multiple engineering teams, ensuring consistent execution of engineering priorities while partnering closely with Product Management, Architecture, Infrastructure, Security, Quality Engineering, and business stakeholders to deliver reliable, secure, and maintainable software solutions.
This role serves as the operational leader for backend engineering, translating technology strategy into execution by establishing engineering roadmaps, building organizational capability, and driving engineering excellence across software delivery. This role balances delivery commitments with modernization efforts, ensuring engineering teams continuously improve software quality, platform reliability, developer productivity, and operational performance while remaining aligned with enterprise architecture, technology standards, and the long-term Technology & Product strategy.
The Director, Software Engineering plays a critical leadership role in developing engineering talent, strengthening organizational capability, and advancing modern engineering practices. By fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, technical excellence, and collaboration, this role helps accelerate platform modernization, improve engineering effectiveness, and position Varsity Brands to scale its technology capabilities while delivering meaningful business outcomes.
Impact of the Role
The Director, Software Engineering is responsible for building and leading a high-performing engineering organization that transforms technology strategy into reliable software delivery. By strengthening engineering execution, advancing modern development practices, and developing engineering talent, this role helps Varsity Brands deliver scalable, secure, and resilient backend solutions that accelerate business growth and platform modernization.
Through disciplined engineering leadership, this role will help unlock:
- Reliable delivery of backend software solutions aligned with business priorities and product roadmaps
- Improved software quality, application reliability, and operational performance across enterprise platforms
- Faster, more predictable software delivery through modern engineering practices, automation, and continuous improvement
- Increased engineering productivity through standardized development practices, reusable services, and improved delivery processes
- Accelerated modernization of legacy applications and backend services while reducing technical debt
- Stronger alignment between Engineering, Product, Architecture, Infrastructure, and Security to improve delivery outcomes
- A high-performing engineering organization built on technical excellence, accountability, collaboration, and continuous learning
- Greater organizational scalability through effective workforce planning, talent development, and engineering capability building
WHAT YOU WILL DO:
Engineering Strategy & Organizational Leadership
- Develop, execute, and continuously refine the engineering strategy for assigned applications, services, and backend platforms in alignment with the broader Specialized Applications & Platforms vision and Technology & Product objectives
- Translate technology strategy into engineering roadmaps, organizational priorities, workforce plans, investment recommendations, and measurable delivery objectives
- Build, lead, and develop high-performing software engineering teams that consistently deliver secure, scalable, and reliable software solutions
- Establish engineering operating models, governance, and performance expectations that improve accountability, execution, and organizational effectiveness
- Evaluate organizational capabilities, identify capacity needs, and implement plans that strengthen engineering performance and long-term scalability
- Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, continuous improvement, innovation, and engineering excellence across the organization
Software Delivery & Business Partnership
- Lead the successful delivery of backend software solutions that support enterprise applications, digital products, and shared platform capabilities
- Partner with Product Management to align engineering priorities with business objectives, product roadmaps, customer needs, and operational requirements
- Ensure engineering teams deliver high-quality software through disciplined planning, execution, risk management, and delivery governance
- Balance feature development, platform modernization, technical debt reduction, and operational support to maximize long-term business value
- Monitor engineering delivery performance and implement continuous improvements that enhance predictability, quality, and delivery effectiveness
Engineering Architecture & Modernization
- Partner with Architecture and Lead Software Engineers to develop and execute technology roadmaps supporting scalable, secure, and maintainable backend platforms
- Ensure engineering teams consistently adopt enterprise architecture standards, engineering best practices, and modern software development methodologies
- Lead engineering efforts supporting cloud-native development, API-first design, distributed systems, automation, and platform modernization initiatives
- Drive continuous improvement of engineering practices, development standards, and delivery methodologies that improve software quality, maintainability, scalability, and operational performance
- Support modernization initiatives that simplify legacy systems, reduce technical debt, and strengthen long-term platform sustainability
Engineering Excellence & Operational Performance
- Champion engineering excellence by promoting software quality, automation, observability, security, resiliency, and operational discipline across engineering teams
- Drive adoption of CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, infrastructure automation, and modern DevOps practices that improve engineering productivity and software reliability
- Establish engineering quality standards through design reviews, code reviews, performance monitoring, and continuous improvement practices
- Lead operational readiness activities that strengthen production stability, incident response, root cause analysis, and service reliability
- Utilize engineering metrics and operational insights to improve software delivery, team effectiveness, and customer outcomes
Talent Development & Organizational Capability
- Recruit, develop, coach, and retain high-performing software engineering talent while fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and growth-oriented culture
- Establish clear performance expectations and provide ongoing coaching, feedback, mentoring, and career development opportunities
- Build leadership capability by developing Lead Software Engineers and preparing future engineering leaders through succession planning and talent development
- Partner with Technology leadership on workforce planning, organizational design, and capability-building initiatives that support future business growth
- Build organizational resilience through succession planning, leadership development, and effective resource planning
- Promote knowledge sharing, technical learning, and continuous professional development across engineering teams
Cross-Functional Leadership & Collaboration
- Build strong partnerships across Product Management, Architecture, Infrastructure, Security, Quality Engineering, Data, and business functions to deliver integrated technology solutions
- Collaborate with business stakeholders to understand priorities, communicate engineering plans, and ensure software solutions support operational and customer needs
- Influence cross-functional decision-making by communicating engineering risks, dependencies, tradeoffs, and delivery impacts in a clear and actionable manner
- Foster alignment across technical and business teams to improve execution, accelerate decision-making, and strengthen organizational effectiveness
- Represent the Software Engineering organization in cross-functional planning, governance, and strategic initiatives
Delivery & Execution
- Establish engineering roadmaps, delivery plans, and operational objectives aligned with departmental priorities and long-term technology strategy
- Ensure predictable execution of engineering initiatives through effective planning, prioritization, resource management, and delivery governance
- Balance immediate operational demands with long-term modernization investments to maximize engineering capacity and business value
- Drive measurable engineering outcomes through disciplined execution, operational excellence, and continuous performance improvement
- Evaluate emerging technologies, engineering methodologies, and development tools that improve organizational capability, software delivery, and long-term business performance
- Lead with an engineering-first mindset, balancing technical excellence, operational discipline, and business outcomes
- Translate technology strategy into clear engineering priorities, actionable plans, and measurable results
- Build and sustain high-performing engineering teams through coaching, accountability, collaboration, and continuous development
- Foster a culture of ownership, innovation, quality, and continuous improvement that empowers engineers to solve complex business and technical challenges
- Partner effectively across Product, Architecture, Infrastructure, Security, Quality Engineering, and business functions to deliver integrated technology solutions
- Drive engineering excellence by championing modern software development practices, operational reliability, automation, and continuous learning
- Balance short-term delivery commitments with long-term modernization, scalability, and organizational capability building
- Make thoughtful, data-informed decisions that strengthen engineering performance, improve customer outcomes, and support long-term business success
- Build trust through transparency, accountability, and consistent communication while leading teams through change and organizational growth
QUALIFICATIONS:
Knowledge, Skills, Abilities
The ideal candidate will demonstrate the following leadership capabilities:
Engineering Leadership
- Builds, develops, and inspires high-performing software engineering teams through coaching, accountability, and a commitment to engineering excellence
- Creates an environment that fosters collaboration, innovation, continuous improvement, and ownership across engineering teams
- Aligns engineering organizations, talent, and resources with departmental priorities and long-term technology objectives
Engineering Strategy & Execution
- Translates technology strategy into practical engineering roadmaps, delivery plans, and measurable business outcomes
- Balances software delivery, platform modernization, technical debt reduction, and operational stability to maximize long-term value
- Evaluates complex engineering challenges, identifies practical solutions, and drives disciplined execution across multiple teams
Technical Leadership
- Demonstrates a strong understanding of modern software engineering, cloud-native architectures, distributed systems, APIs, backend application development, and modern engineering practices
- Partners effectively with Architecture and Lead Software Engineers to guide technical direction, engineering standards, and modernization initiatives without assuming primary architectural ownership
- Promotes engineering practices that improve scalability, maintainability, reliability, security, performance, and operational excellence
Organizational Leadership
- Builds organizational capability through effective hiring, workforce planning, succession planning, performance management, and leadership development
- Leads engineering organizations through growth, organizational change, and evolving business priorities while maintaining engagement and delivery effectiveness
- Establishes clear expectations, promotes accountability, and develops future engineering leaders through coaching and mentorship
Cross-Functional Influence
- Builds trusted partnerships across Product Management, Architecture, Infrastructure, Security, Quality Engineering, Data, and business functions to achieve shared objectives
- Effectively balances competing priorities while building consensus among technical and business stakeholders
- Communicates engineering priorities, delivery risks, technical tradeoffs, and organizational needs in a clear, concise, and actionable manner
Business & Systems Thinking
- Understands how software engineering supports enterprise applications, digital products, operational workflows, and customer experiences across the organization
- Evaluates engineering decisions through the lens of business value, operational effectiveness, scalability, and long-term sustainability
- Identifies opportunities to simplify engineering processes, improve organizational effectiveness, and strengthen software delivery capabilities
Leadership Presence & Communication
- Communicates technical concepts, engineering priorities, and organizational direction effectively with engineers, business leaders, and executive stakeholders
- Builds trust through transparency, sound judgment, and consistent decision-making
- Influences outcomes by fostering collaboration, credibility, and alignment across diverse teams and stakeholders
Education, Certification and ExperienceRequired:·
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related technical discipline required; equivalent combination of education and relevant experience will also be considered·
- 10+ years of progressive software engineering experience, including demonstrated experience leading software engineering teams and delivering complex, business-critical technology solutions·
- Demonstrated success leading software engineering organizations responsible for delivering complex, business-critical applications and technology solutions·
- Experience developing and executing engineering roadmaps that align with technology strategy, business priorities, and product objectives·
- Proven ability to build, lead, develop, and retain high-performing software engineering teams while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement·
- Experience leading software delivery across multiple concurrent initiatives while balancing feature development, modernization efforts, operational support, and technical debt reduction·
- Strong understanding of modern software engineering practices, including cloud-native development, distributed systems, APIs, DevOps, CI/CD, automated testing, observability, and software quality·
- Experience partnering with Product Management, Architecture, Infrastructure, Security, Quality Engineering, and business stakeholders to deliver scalable, secure, and reliable technology solutions·
- Demonstrated ability to evaluate complex technical and organizational challenges, make sound decisions, and drive measurable engineering and business outcomes
Preferred:·
- Master's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business Administration, or a related field
- Experience leading backend software engineering organizations supporting enterprise applications, digital commerce platforms, or other large-scale customer-facing technology environments·
- Experience modernizing legacy applications and implementing cloud-native architectures, microservices, and API-first engineering practices· Experience working in Agile product development environments with cross-functional Product and Engineering organizations·
- Experience leading geographically distributed or remote engineering teams·
- Experience supporting technology transformation initiatives involving platform modernization, engineering process improvement, or organizational capability building·
- Experience with AWS or other modern cloud platforms and related engineering technologies·
PHYSICAL REQUIRMENTS:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the employee for this job.
OUR VALUES
Service - We lead with heart. We champion community.
Passion - We love what we do. It fuels our purpose.
Integrity - We do what we promise. We own our actions and decisions.
Respect - We earn it by giving it. Because everyone deserves it.
Innovation - We never stop striving to be better. For ourselves and our community.
Transparency - We are committed to openness and honesty in everything we do.
OUR BENEFITS
We are committed to putting you and your families first. For benefits eligible roles, we offer a variety of choices and costs as well as program enhancements that align with our responsibility to elevate the employee experience. Some of our offerings include:
- Comprehensive Health Care Benefits
- HSA Employer Contribution/ FSA Opportunities
- Wellbeing Program
- 401(k) plan with company matching
- Company paid Life, AD&D, and Short-Term Disability
- Generous My Time Off & Paid Holidays
- Varsity Brands Ownership Program
- Employee Resource Groups
- Access to Financial Coaching and member-owned Credit Union
- St. Jude Partnership & Volunteer Opportunities
- Employee Perks including discounts on personal apparel and equipment!
Eligibility for company-sponsored benefits is determined by scheduled work hours, and the terms of the applicable benefit plans. Benefit offerings and eligibility requirements may vary by position and are subject to change in accordance with plan documents and applicable law.
Varsity Brands companies are equal opportunity employers. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran’s status, age or disability.
