Head of Software Engineering

Role Overview:

We are seeking a highly skilled Senior / Lead .NET Full Stack Developer to own the design, development, and compliance of enterprise-grade applications in a Microsoft- and Azure-first environment. This role goes beyond coding – you will take on a hands-on leadership role responsible not only for delivering high-quality, scalable systems, but also for shaping how we build – integrating modern AI capabilities into our development lifecycle and business solutions. In addition, you will manage and mentor software engineers and technical leads (both full-time and contracted), help evaluate tools and platforms, enforce architectural standards, and play a key role in timeline estimations.

Ultimately, you will oversee engineering execution and team performance, working across the full stack – ASP.Net. Core 8, Angular/React, Azure SQL, Redis, Azure App Configuration, App Insights, and CI/CD pipelines—to build API-first platforms that are secure, scalable, and maintainable. This role requires equal strength in technical depth, organizational leadership, and business alignment. You will lead a hybrid (full-time and contracted) engineering organization ensuring efficient delivery, high standards, and strong accountability across all contributors

Essential Functions

Technical Leadership & Architecture

• Design and develop enterprise applications: Build secure, scalable APIs and applications using .NET 8 / C# 12, ASP.NET Core, and Azure SQL with DDD-inspired layered architecture.
• Define coding standards: Define, execute, and enforce the company’s software engineering strategy, development practices, and technology governance.
• Event-driven architecture: Design and operate Azure Service Bus / Storage Queues / Functions solutions with idempotency, DLQs, retries, and backoff strategies.
• AI-driven development & innovation: Work with IT leadership to lead the integration of AI across products, internal tools, and engineering workflows. Establish best practices for AI development, including evaluation, deployment, monitoring, and governance.

Performance & Infrastructure

• Performance optimization: Conduct SQL profiling/tuning, query plan analysis, indexing strategies, and concurrency/isolation planning; optimize Azure capacity and costs.
• Security implementation: Deploy secure authentication/authorization using Okta, API Key + Bearer tokens, and scope-based access controls.
• Configuration management: Manage environment configuration via Azure App Configuration with CI/CD pipelines in Azure DevOps.

Operations & Reliability

• Production ownership: Lead Severity incident triage, Root Cause Analysis, and post-mortems; define runbooks, SLOs.
• Monitoring and observability: Integrate Azure Application Insights for telemetry and system monitoring.
• Deployment leadership: Manage deployments across Dev → UAT → Prod environments, ensuring compliance with enterprise release practices.

Team Leadership & Process Management

• Own team ceremonies & flow: Facilitate agile ceremonies including standups, backlog refinement, estimation, and sprint planning; drive throughput and reduce work-in-progress.
• Code reviews & mentorship: Establish review standards, conduct pair programming sessions, and mentor developers to elevate team quality and velocity.
• Testing strategy: Enforce comprehensive testing approaches including unit, integration, and end-to-end testing with coverage goals and quality gates in CI pipelines.

Strategic Development

• Modernization planning: Lead migration from legacy frontend technologies to modern frameworks using incremental approaches with feature toggles and risk mitigation strategies.
• Technical translation: Convert business requirements into technical solutions, balancing maintainability, performance, and extensibility.
• Cross-functional collaboration: Participate in design reviews, architectural planning sessions, and ensure alignment with enterprise architecture standards.
• Executive partnership: Partner with IT and business leadership to provide high level estimates, prioritize initiatives, and translate business strategy into technical execution.

Skills/Qualifications:

• Proven experience leading engineering teams at scale.
• Expert in C#, .NET 8, ASP.NET Core (Web API, Razor Pages).
• Demonstrated experience incorporating AI/ML or LLM-based solutions into products or workflows.
• Strong in Azure SQL (hybrid relational + JSON), Redis, CDN integration.
• Proven experience with Azure App Configuration, Application Insights, and Health Check library.
• Deep understanding of Domain-Driven Design (DDD), SOLID principles, and repository patterns.
• Experience with Azure DevOps Pipelines (CI/CD), YAML/classic, and multi-environment release management.
• Familiar with common design patterns: Command, Strategy, Factory, Provider, Feature Toggle.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills, ability to mentor and govern junior developers.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to prioritize work based on ROI and strategic impact.
• Preferred: Microsoft certifications (Azure Solutions Architect, .NET, or DevOps Engineer).

Competencies:

• Strategic Thinking & Execution
• AI & Innovation Mindset
• Team Mentorship and Collaboration
• Vendor & Stakeholder Management
• Operations Excellence & Accountability

Experience:

• 10+ years of related experience, with at least 5-8 years in a senior leadership role.
• Experience managing outsourced or contracted development teams (onshore and near/offshore).

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience).
• Microsoft certifications preferred (Azure Solutions Architect, .NET, or DevOps Engineer).