Director of Engineering

New Today

When you join Sallie Mae, you become a champion for all students. We’re on a mission to power confidence as students begin their unique journey. To help them plan their higher education, successfully finish, and prepare for life after school. To help them Start smart. Learn big. Students need guidance navigating this important time in their life. They need someone who acknowledges that their education path is unique. They need a partner willing to evolve and not only meet but surpass their expectations. We’re changing. Because students need a better way. We’re looking for people who are excited to drive this transformation. To break barriers and think of new ways to adapt, help, and create better experiences for students—and for each other. This is where diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives matter. It’s where you’re empowered to bring your authentic self to work. Feeling your best allows you to do your best. Our benefits take care of the whole you—from physical and mental to financial and professional. You’ll get opportunities to further your education and career, support for you and your family (including your pets!), paid time off to volunteer for the things that matter to you, and more. We’re obsessed with impact and making a real difference. For us, that means putting relationships first, asking “why not?” when tackling challenges, and continuously learning new skills. Come do more than join something, change something. For students, for future generations, for the future of education. What You'll Contribute We’re looking for a Director of Engineering to join our Origination team —someone who brings a unique blend of strong technical expertise, people-first leadership, and a passion for building high-performing teams. In this role, you’ll lead a mix of engineering managers and engineering team members in a collaborative Agile environment (SAFe, Scrum, Kanban), contributing to technical direction while scaling process, culture, and innovation. This is a great opportunity for a leader who thrives on solving complex challenges in delivery, resourcing, and team alignment—and who sees leadership as both a strategic role and a human one. What You'll Do Lead, coach, and grow engineering managers and ICs, creating a clear path for growth, performance and accountability.
Drive strategic planning, resource and capacity management, and team alignment across multiple workstreams.
Drive hiring strategy, and resource balancing, onboarding and team integration experience.
Participate in technical discussions and code reviews; bring hands-on engineering perspective to application architecture, design, and delivery decisions.
Champion SDLC best practices, including testing automation, CI/CD, and secure development standards.
Guide teams working on Salesforce-based systems and cloud-native applications (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
Partner cross-functionally with product and design to ensure delivery outcomes align with team and company goals.
Bring curiosity and direction to innovation efforts, especially around the use of AI and automation to improve developer experience and efficiency.
Promote team-first behavior, encourage candid conversations, and foster an environment of trust and transparency.
Build bridges across teams — influencing outside your direct team, establishing trust with cross-functional stakeholders, and improving collaboration where it's missing.
Champion learning and development — mentoring your managers to do the same, and creating space for team growth through stretch work, training, and feedback.
What You Have: Minimum education, skills and experience required. 10+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 3 years in leadership roles managing both ICs and people managers.
Strong foundation in application development with the ability to contribute to code reviews and architectural decisions.
Strong programming skills in languages such as Java, C++, Python, or similar languages.
Experience with web development frameworks (e.g., Angular, React, or Vue.js) and databases (e.g., SQL, MySQL, or PostgreSQL).
Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP) and integrating with Salesforce-based systems.
Deep understanding of SDLC best practices, software development methodologies, automated testing strategies, and secure development principles.
Operationally savvy in managing resource planning, performance, and hiring across both full-time and contractor roles.
Effective communicator and connector — strong at advocating for engineering while building trust across organizational lines.
Experienced in Agile environments, including SAFe, Scrum, and Kanban.
Passionate about coaching and enabling growth at all levels of the engineering team.
This role will have a hybrid but flexible 3 days in office policy at our Indianapolis, IN location.
Preferred education, skills and experience required. Experience leading through team transitions such as rapid scaling, or legacy modernizations based on business needs.
Knowledge or interest in AI, LLMs, or intelligent automation tools to drive developer and product efficiency.
Background in leading distributed or hybrid teams across time zones or geographies.
Prior experience developing and executing learning and development programs for technical teams.
Experience delivering software in highly regulated environments (FDIC, etc.)
The Americans with Disabilities Act Feeling your best helps you do your best:
Our benefits take care of the whole you—so you can build your work around your life (not the other way around!).
Competitive base salaries
Bonus incentives
Generous PTO, Floating Holidays and 12 Federal Holidays observed
Support for financial-well-being and retirement 401k with employer match
Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, hospital indemnity, critical illness, pet insurance and more
Employer paid short-term/long-term disability and basic life insurance
Flexible hybrid working arrangements.
Paid parental leave and adoption reimbursement programs
Free access to on-site staffed fitness centers (in Delaware) and gym subsidy (for locations outside Delaware)
Confidential counseling support (EAP), Health Advocacy services and Wellness program with financial incentives
Tuition Reimbursement and Family Scholarship Programs
Career development and training opportunities
Not the right fit? Let us know you're interested in a future opportunity by clickingin the top-right corner of the page or create an account to set up email alerts as new job postings become available that meet your interest! Sallie Mae is proud to be an equal opportunity (EEO) employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, genetic information, gender identity, disability, Veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. Click to view the U.S. Pay Transparency Policy, for federal job applicant notices, and to view the California Employee Privacy Notice.
Reasonable accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities in all phases of the application and employment process.
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Location:
Indianapolis
Job Type:
PartTime

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