WHO YOU'LL WORK WITH
The Engineering Excellence team works alongside Engineers, Architects, and Product Managers across Nike Global Technology to consolidate developer tools and advance platform capabilities. This role reports to Kaushik Katira and connects with multiple engineering squads driving platform unification, DevOps modernization, and AI-native delivery practices. If you're ready to build platforms that redefine how great engineering happens, it's time to join Nike's Global Technology organization. We're transforming how software is built, delivered, and measured — moving from fragmented legacy tools to a unified, AI-native development ecosystem. We hire the best engineers in the world and give them problems worth solving.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
Nike is looking for a Lead Software Engineer who combines strong individual technical execution with the ability to guide and elevate the work of others. The successful candidate takes ownership of complex technical components, drives high-quality delivery across a squad, and contributes meaningfully to architectural decisions. This role requires someone who has grown beyond executing tasks into shaping how work gets done — setting technical direction, catching issues before they become problems, and building software that lasts. The ideal candidate brings solid cloud-native engineering experience, a working knowledge of AI-assisted development tooling, and a genuine drive to improve developer productivity at scale.
- 8–10 years of software engineering experience; Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or equivalent combination of education, experience or training
- Strong proficiency in Java, Node.js, Golang, React, or JavaScript with demonstrated experience building and operating highly scalable cloud-native systems
- 5+ years of hands-on experience with AWS or major cloud platforms, Kubernetes, containerization, and CI/CD pipeline development
- Experience with developer tools ecosystem including GitHub, GitHub Actions, artifact management, and developer portal platforms such as Backstage or Pulse
- Proven ability to lead technical delivery, participate in architectural decisions, and collaborate across cross-functional engineering teams
WHAT YOU'LL WORK ON
You'll take end-to-end ownership of significant features and subsystems within Nike's developer platform consolidation — working across GitHub, Nike AI Control Plane, Databricks, and Pulse to build tools that thousands of Nike engineers depend on every day.
- Lead the design and development of core components for Nike's unified developer platforms, including CI/CD systems, package management infrastructure, and developer portal functionality on Pulse
- Implement AI-native development tooling that enables agent-led software delivery workflows while maintaining human oversight at critical checkpoints in the development lifecycle
- Drive technical analysis and delivery for replacing existing costly, duplicative legacy tools with modern, efficient platform solutions aligned to Nike's simplification roadmap
- Take full ownership of complex features from design through production deployment, ensuring reliability, security, and alignment with engineering excellence standards
- Participate actively in architectural reviews and technical planning sessions, contributing to decisions that affect platform scalability and developer productivity
- Support the development of traceability frameworks connecting business requirements to GitHub commits, deployments, and production signals
- Collaborate with Principal Engineers and squad leads to grow technical skills across the team, contributing to a culture of craft and continuous improvement
Nike Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Nike and has not been reviewed or approved by Nike.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with a company match is complemented by options such as a Mega Backdoor Roth and deferred compensation for eligible earners. Financial coaching and structured savings programs support long-term financial security.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — An Employee Stock Purchase Plan with a stock discount sits alongside broad-based equity vehicles like RSUs and non-qualified stock options. These avenues expand wealth-building opportunities beyond base pay.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave includes maternity and paternity time, recently expanded in the U.S. to 16 weeks and extended to part-time retail teammates. Additional supports include childcare assistance at select locations and family-building benefits such as fertility, surrogacy, and adoption.
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What We Do
At NIKE, Inc., we innovate to serve athletes*. Every teammate - from coder to creator - plays a role in making these athletes’ dreams real. Our tech, data, and digital teams push limits every day, building the future of sport and the tools that drive it. Here, curiosity is fuel. Innovation is the game plan. Different perspectives keep us on the offense. You’ll solve challenges worth tackling, grow fast and belong to a team that backs you to do the right thing. Bring your drive. Bring your bold. Let’s move the world, together. Take your first step at nike.com/careers * If you have a body, you’re an athlete.
Why Work With Us
At NIKE, Inc., your dedication fuels the future of sport. There is a sense of pride that comes from representing an iconic brand and shaping its future. Here, we treat every day as a new opportunity to push boundaries, ask tough questions and share whole-hearted convictions. We are a team – united by the belief that anything is possible.
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