Director of Product Engineering

Reporting to: Chief Technology Officer

Location: Remote

Application close date: Open until filled

CodePath is a national non-profit that is reprogramming higher education to create the most diverse generation of software engineers, CTOs, and founders. We deliver industry-vetted courses and career support centered on the needs of Black, Latino/a, Indigenous, and low-income students. Our students train with senior engineers, intern at top companies, and rise together to become the tech leaders of tomorrow.

Founded in 2017, CodePath has taught over 18,000 students and delivered courses across over 70 universities. We are supported by some of the largest and most well-respected organizations, including Andreessen Horowitz, Blue Meridian Partners, Cognizant Foundation, Comcast, Google, Meta, Salesforce, Walmart, and Workday, among others.

We are currently targeted to serve 8,000+ students a year nationwide as of 2023, and are planning to scale up to ~100,000 students a year by 2030.

About the Role:

We are looking for a Director of Product Engineering, a senior product-focused engineering leader interested in working closely with the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) to build out a new internal engineering team and bring the platform and products under our development to their full scalable potential as well as expand our scope into new modules and products.

This role is not a traditional Director of Engineering role!

The engineering team you will join comprises of our CTO/Co-founder, a technical product manager, and four to five offshore contract engineers including 2 lead engineers.

In the first year, you would be expected to be coding/shipping certain features yourself for the first year as we build out the team (15-25%), as well as reviewing, integrating, and releasing others’ code (25%), chatting and gathering requirements from multiple internal stakeholders, and steering several products (50%). (All of our current systems are primarily in a mix of Django full-stack and Ruby full-stack.)

During this first year you will also partner with the CTO and the Talent Engagement team to build your own small full-time engineering team. To start, that would be 2-4 engineers, a UI/UX resource and 1-2 additional hires as needed. We expect to organically grow the team so by your second year, you can expect that you will have 1-2 Engineering Leads/Managers underneath you. As the team grows, your responsibilities would probably gradually shift away from hands-on coding work to more standard engineering management work.

Key Activities:

• Lead and actively participate in the development and maintenance of the organization's technology platform and products.

• Work with the CTO and other stakeholders to identify and prioritize technology projects and initiatives.

• Hire, train, and manage the product engineering team, including setting goals, providing feedback, and ensuring career development.

• Manage the non-profit product engineering team and the product development process, as well as collaborate with external platform contractors.

• Collaborate with other teams and departments within the non-profit to ensure that the technology platform and products are aligned with the organization's goals and objectives.

• Monitor and report on the performance of the technology platform and products, including key metrics and user feedback.

• Develop and maintain technical documentation, including system architecture diagrams, product roadmaps, and technical specifications.

Preferred Qualifications:

Note: Research suggests that women and BIPOC individuals may self-select out of opportunities if they don’t meet 100% of the job requirements. We encourage individuals who believe they have the skills necessary to thrive at CodePath to apply for this role.

• At least 8 years of experience in software engineering, with at least 5 years of experience in a technical leadership role.

• Full-stack web development experience, which includes Django/Python, Ruby/Rails, or closely equivalent stack.

• Strong technical skills, with experience building and maintaining technology platforms and products.

• Experience in hiring, training, and managing engineering teams.

• Experience with agile development methodologies and product management.

• Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with stakeholders across the organization.

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field

Benefits

We are committed to professional growth and fulfillment at work. Benefits include:

• Medical insurance with dental and vision.

• Generous time off with a flexible workplace and work schedule.

• A commitment to developing leaders from within the organization.

• Frequent opportunities to connect with students, universities, and communities we serve.

• Opportunities to engage, collaborate and partner with top technology companies, venture capitalists, and engineering leaders in Silicon Valley.

About the Current Team

We are individuals from a multitude of backgrounds, experiences, and unlikely stories, all connected by a single dream: a world in which regardless of background, socioeconomic status, gender or race all people have pathways to reach their full potential.

With a staff and board that cares deeply about diversity and equity, we believe that diverse perspectives and backgrounds create a richer work environment and enhance our ability to pursue our mission.