Department:
TechnologyOur Company Promise
We are committed to provide our Employees a stable work environment with equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of Southwest Airlines. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect, and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Southwest Customer.
Job Description:
The Senior Software Engineer will join a growing team responsible for Ground Operations' Workforce Strategy & Planning applications, including the development of a modern, internally built platform that will replace the current long-term workforce planning solution. In this role, you'll help design, build, test, release, and support workforce optimization products that drive staffing, planning, and operational decision-making across Ground Operations. The platform's capabilities will play a critical role in helping Southwest optimize resources, improve operational reliability, and enhance the experience for both Employees and Customers. Team members have a unique opportunity to shape a strategic product from the ground up and directly influence how Southwest plans and manages its Ground Operations workforce for years to come. You'll leverage AI-enabled tools and modern engineering practices to solve complex technical challenges and deliver reliable, high-quality solutions that support operational success.
The Senior Software Engineer role also includes mentoring fellow Engineers, providing technical leadership, and driving the delivery of scalable, maintainable solutions.
Additional Details:
This role is offered as a remote workplace position, which may require travel for trainings, meetings, conferences, etc. Outside of those required visits, the majority of your working time may be spent in an approved remote location, away from our Corporate Campus. Please note, while this is a remote position, there is limited group of states or localities ineligible for Employees to regularly perform their work off-site. Those ineligible locations are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New Hampshire New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming, and Puerto Rico.
U.S. citizenship or current authorization to work in the U.S. required and no current or future work authorization sponsorship available.
We’re committed to fair hiring practices and to making employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, military or veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other legally protected characteristics.
- Drive the technical direction and feature roadmap of large-scale cloud systems
- Serve as a technical lead contributing to and directing the efforts of development teams, including internal and external team members
- Determines operational feasibility by evaluating analysis, problem definition, requirements, solution development, and proposed solutions
- Drives detailed definition of feature requirements through discussions with product managers and customers
- Supports continuous improvement by investigating alternatives and new technologies
- Prepares and installs solutions by determining and designing system specifications, standards, and programming
- Evaluates code to ensure that it is valid, is properly structured, meets industry standards, and is compatible with browsers, devices, or operating systems
- Mentor Software Engineers to allow for skill/knowledge development through advice, coaching, and training opportunities
- Update job knowledge by studying state-of-the-art development tools, programming techniques and computing equipment; participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations
- May perform other job duties as directed by Employee's Leaders
- Advanced knowledge of software development methodologies, practices, concepts, and technologies obtained through formal training and / or work experience
- Proactively shares knowledge and skills of software development and testing to solve a range of problems
- Advanced knowledge of at least one required programming language
- Excellent partnering, communication, negotiation skills, and execution in working with various Technology or partner Teams
- Ability to articulate (verbally / visually) ideas, approach, concepts, options, risk, impact, and provides guidance to technical, non-technical, and Leadership audiences
- Ability to lead multiple assignments, whether administrative or project related, while maintaining a successful level of completion in all responsible work
- Ability to mentor others
- Ability to lead ideating, presentations, mentoring and group-thinking sessions
- Ability to influence without authority
- Required: High School Diploma or GED
- Required: Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information systems or similar fields of study or equivalent advanced level experience
- Required: Advanced-level experience, seasoned and specialized knowledge in software development and methodologies
- Preferred: Strong experience with Python, Node.js, React.js, JavaScript,
HTML5, and CSS3. - Preferred: Experience developing REST APIs, microservices, and
distributed applications. - Preferred: Experience with MicroFront End applications and Test
Automation tools such as Playwright. - Preferred: Practical experience with AWS DynamoDB
- Preferred: Hands-on experience with AWS cloud services and CI/CD
practices. - Preferred: Knowledge of relational and NoSQL databases.
- Preferred: Familiarity with containerization technologies such as Docker
and Kubernetes is preferred.
- N/A
- Ability to perform work duties from [limited space work station/desk/office area] for extended periods of time
- Ability to communicate and interact with others in the English language to meet the demands of the job
- Ability to use a computer and other office productivity tools with sufficient speed and accuracy to meet the demands of the job
- Must maintain a well-groomed appearance per Company appearance standards as described in established guidelines
- Must be a U.S. citizen or have authorization to work in the United States as defined by the Immigration Reform Act of 1986
- Must be at least 18 years of age
- Must be able to comply with Company attendance standards as described in established guidelines
- Must be able to travel and /or attend Company and non-Company facilities and remote locations such as remote-based offices as necessary
Pay & Benefits
Competitive market salary from $138,800 per year to $154,200 per year* depending on qualifications and experience. For eligible Leadership and individual contributor roles, additional bonus opportunities are available and awarded at the discretion of the company.
Benefits you’ll love:
- Fly for free, as a privilege, on any open seat on all Southwest flights (your eligible dependents too)
- Southwest will help fund your 401(k) retirement savings with Company contributions up to 9.3% of your eligible earnings**
- Potential for annual ProfitSharing contribution in the Southwest Retirement Savings Plan- when Southwest profits, you profit***
- Competitive health insurance for you and your eligible dependents (including pets)
- Southwest offers health plan coverage options that start from the very first day of employment. You will have 30 days to select and enroll in your health plan with coverage retroactively available to your first day of employment.
- Explore more Benefits you’ll love: https://careers.southwestair.com/benefits
*Pay amount does not guarantee employment for any particular period of time.
**401(k) match contributions are subject to Retirement Savings Plan vesting schedule and applicable IRS limits ***ProfitSharing contributions are subject to Retirement Savings Plan vesting schedule and are made at the discretion of the Company.
Southwest Airlines is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Skills Required
- High school diploma or GED
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a similar field, or equivalent advanced-level experience
- Advanced-level, seasoned, and specialized experience in software development and methodologies
- Advanced knowledge of at least one programming language
- Ability to work from a limited-space workstation or office for extended periods
- Ability to communicate and interact in English
- U.S. citizenship or current authorization to work in the United States
- At least 18 years of age
- Ability to comply with company attendance standards
- Strong experience with Python, Node.js, React.js, JavaScript, HTML5, and CSS3
- Experience developing REST APIs, microservices, and distributed applications
- Experience with Micro Frontend applications and Playwright or other test automation tools
- Practical experience with AWS DynamoDB
- Hands-on experience with AWS cloud services and CI/CD practices
- Knowledge of relational and NoSQL databases
- Familiarity with Docker and Kubernetes
- Ability to travel or attend company and non-company facilities or remote locations as necessary
Southwest Airlines Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Southwest Airlines and has not been reviewed or approved by Southwest Airlines.
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Pay Growth & Progression — Pay progression is described as materially improving after major 2024 union agreements, especially for pilots and flight attendants. Compensation satisfaction is framed as stronger over time as step scales and seniority accumulate.
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Retirement Support — Retirement support stands out through a dollar-for-dollar 401(k) match and the presence of profit-sharing contributions that can add to retirement savings. Stock purchase access is also positioned as an additional ownership-oriented component of total rewards.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Wellbeing and lifestyle value is elevated by extensive space-available travel privileges and broad travel-related discounts that can materially offset personal travel costs. Recognition mechanisms like points-based rewards are also positioned as an added lifestyle-oriented perk.
Southwest Airlines Insights
What We Do
At Southwest Airlines we connect People to what’s important in their lives—that also means connecting our Employees to what’s important in their lives! Our Employees value the opportunity to work hard, be creative, and have fun on the job. Southwest Airlines recognizes, respects, and values differences. By fostering a culture that embraces and utilizes our diversity, we create competitive advantages in teamwork and innovation that contribute to our overall success.
