Senior Director, Software Development

Be yourself at Protolabs 

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification.  We are an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to building a diverse team that feels they are valued in the workplace.  So do you feel you do not meet every single requirement but still intrigued? We encourage you to still apply!  You can help make our company even better.  We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, age, mental or physical ability, or any way you represent yourself.  We strongly believe diversity makes for more successful teams. 

Why Protolabs? 

We are the leaders in digital manufacturing.  We hire doers, makers, and creative thinkers who tackle our roles with an entrepreneurial spirit.  Our culture is centered around meaningful work that brings new and innovative products to market at unprecedented speeds.  We are a diverse team that comes from all walks of life and take pride in our team who is smart, genuine, humble, and passionate about what we do.  It’s our people who fuel our creativity and make our culture feel like home. 

Join our team as a Senior Director of Software Development!

This position is a hybrid or remote role based out of Maple Plain, MN. You must be located in MN.

We are looking for a Sr. Director of Software Development to join our team and lead the global software development function. In this role, you will oversee seven software teams responsible for creating, running, and operating software that empowers our clients—ranging from life-saving medical device companies to race car engineers and space technology innovators—to develop their groundbreaking products. This software powers Protolabs' one-of-a-kind manufacturing plants and operates the Protolabs Network, connecting customers to manufacturers (think Lyft for manufacturing).

The ideal candidate will have a strong curiosity and a willingness to learn about innovative manufacturing technologies, approaches to solving complex computational problems, optimizing business processes with software, and experience managing hybrid remote and in-person teams across multiple geographic locations.

What you'll do:

• Lead the delivery of complex business critical software initiatives with speed and quality across the organization
• Continuously improve the departments and the overall organizations’ software development practices to drive faster time to market and increased stability
• Responsible for multiple critical software systems and for their security, performance, maintainability and keeping them and their underlying infrastructure up to date
• Typically leads 5 or more software development teams of 40+ people
• Collaborate with other departments to prioritize software development needs including design, development, and documenting and software development issues and needs in terms of the software’s full life cycle
• Responsible for people management and leadership, including coaching, career and talent development, as well as performance and compensation management. Empowered to make key staffing decisions, including hiring, development, and team transitions
• Assists executives in defining organizational strategies, objectives & priorities
• Cultivate and encourage a culture of teamwork and collaboration
• Make strategic decisions around software development based on company goals and objectives
• Accountable for implementation of software strategy and daily operations
• Coach to team solutioning when a decision needs to be made
• Maintain a mid-term outlook 1-3 years and long-term outlook 3+ years
• Perform additional tasks as assigned

What it takes:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, or equivalent education and experience
• 15+ years of experience leading technology teams
• 10+ years management experience of a software development team(s) of at least 10 developers
• 5+ years previous experience as a software developer
• Expert business knowledge with comprehensive understanding of the organization and function area
• Demonstrated success in delivering complex software products in compliance with established schedules
• Strong leadership qualities required with demonstrated success in leading a development team in overcoming difficult technical challenges
• Knowledge and understanding of testing approaches within Scrum agile software development projects
• Demonstrated familiarity of software testing practices, methodologies, and tooling
• Knowledge of advanced browser configuration options in modern browsers
• Demonstrated success in building strong, balanced development teams
• Demonstrated strong people skills both in managing direct reports as well as dealing cross-functionally with peers and other teams
• Experience in directing a team and working with teams that are geographically dispersed

Bonus points for:

• Experience and passion for in introducing CI/CD and automated testing
• Creating software that works with ERP systems (we are planning a migration from one ERP system to another)
• Experience in manufacturing (3-D printing counts!)
• Expertise in partnering with business stakeholders in finding software and operational solutions to business problems
• Experience in creating and managing timeline expectations while also using Agile methodology.
• Creating teams and architectures where teams can independently deliver within their domains, while working towards the same larger initiative goal

What's in it for you:

• We offer a competitive total compensation package
• In addition, we offer competitive benefits including but not limited to:
• Health Insurance: Traditional OR High Deductible plan
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Account (including employer contributions)
• Dental and Vision
• Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance
• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
• Paid caregiver leave
• You will receive PTO + Holiday Pay + Volunteer Hours
• 401k with company match and immediate vest
• Employee Stock Purchase Program with a 15% discount
• And More!

Proto Labs maintains ITAR-compliant operations in all of our United States based facilities.  Due to ITAR regulations, this role is only open to U.S. Citizens, lawful permanent residents (green card holders) or foreign nationals granted refugee or asylee status.  Individuals with temporary visas (e.g. E, F-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J, TN or OPT) are not eligible for hire in this role.

Proto Labs, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Physical Demands:

While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use a computer keyboard, monitor and mouse, telephone and printer; reach with hands, and arms, talk, see and hear.  The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, stoop or kneel and must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Work Environment:

Indoors (A/C); nonsmoking; the majority of this job function is performed in an office setting requiring normal safety precautions. However, there may be job duties that require the employee to spend time in the manufacturing areas exposed to machinery and noise; eye protection occasionally required. Occasionally works in outside weather conditions. Occasionally works near moving mechanical parts and in high, precarious places and is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, risk of electrical shock and vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet to moderate.