Tech Lead Software Engineer

Posted Yesterday
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Dallas, TX, USA
In-Office
161K-178K Annually
Expert/Leader
Aerospace
The Role
Leads software engineering for Southwest’s Workday-based HR and payroll solutions. Responsibilities include application architecture, software development, automated testing, performance testing, deployment planning, technical debt reduction, technology evaluation, and code quality oversight. The role provides technical direction for Workday security, configuration, and integrations; partners with architects and business stakeholders; estimates work; and mentors development teams while supporting reliable, scalable, secure enterprise applications.
Summary Generated by Built In

Department:

Technology

Our 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:

Job Summary

Ready to lead the technology that powers critical HR and payroll experiences across Southwest? As a Tech Lead Software Engineer, you will lead a Team of developers while serving as the primary technical expert for Workday. You will drive architecture, security, configuration, and integration strategies, ensuring solutions are reliable, scalable, and aligned with business needs. Partnering closely with business and technology stakeholders, you will guide technical delivery, mentor engineers, and support HR and payroll operations across the enterprise. Your work will help maximize the value of Southwest’s Workday investment while delivering a secure and seamless experience for Employees and Leaders.

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. 

Responsibilities
  • Provide accurate development estimates in support of feasibility assessments and planned development activities
  • Create, maintain, review and approve application designs in collaboration with Solution Architects and shared services Teams, ensuring alignment to the appropriate solution architectures and taking tradeoffs into account
  • Develop, maintain, and review software with a focus on quality and maintainability
  • Develop, maintain, review, and execute unit, functional, and integration tests with a focus on automation and test-driven development
  • Provide technical oversight for performance testing, ensuring plan and outcomes align to expected non-functional requirements
  • Plan and oversee application deployment activities and sequencing in non-production and production environments
  • Investigate new technologies that could improve the applications and development activities
  • Identify and resolve technical debt as appropriate, weighing the development effort against the value returned
  • Mentor and coach Development Team on relevant architecture, design, development, and operations topics
  • Evaluate code to ensure that it is valid, is properly structured, meets industry standards, and is compatible with browsers, devices, or operating systems
  • May perform other job duties as directed by Employee's Leaders
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
  • Advanced knowledge of software development methodologies, practices, concepts, and technologies
  • Advanced knowledge of at least one programming language and at least general knowledge of one or more additional programming languages
  • Knowledge of project management methodology and principles
  • Ability to demonstrate strong analytical and problem-solving abilities with a proactive mindset to get ahead of issues
  • Skilled in communication with ability to articulate a clear direction and priorities on ideas, approaches, concepts, options, risks, impacts, and recommendations to technical, non-technical, and Leadership audiences with ability to adapt the message accordingly
  • Ability to articulate the technical implementation and how it provides business value
  • Ability to lead ideation, presentation, and group-thinking sessions
  • Ability to influence effectively without authority up through Senior Leadership levels to achieve desired business outcomes
  • Ability to lead multiple efforts concurrently, whether administrative or project related, while maintaining a successful level of completion in their own work
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced, Team-based, Customer service-oriented environment
Education
  • 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
Experience
  • Required: Expert level experience, expansive and far reaching knowledge in software engineering
  • Preferred: Experience with Workday HCM, Payroll, Recruiting, Benefits, Security, and configuration.
  • Preferred: Experience with Workday security, integrations, and development tools, including Workday Studio, EIB, Core Connectors, Workday Extend, and REST/SOAP APIs.
  • Preferred: Experience with Workday reporting, release management, testing, compliance, audits, and access governance.
Licensing/Certification
  • N/A
Physical Abilities
  • 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
Other Qualifications
  • 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 $160,550-$178,400 per year* depending on qualifications and experience, with opportunity for future pay increases based on performance and market movement. 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 Retirement Savings Plan 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 doesn’t guarantee employment for any particular period of time

**401(k) match contributions are subject to the plan’s vesting schedule and applicable IRS limits

***ProfitSharing contributions are subject to plan’s 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
  • Expert-level experience and extensive knowledge in software engineering
  • Advanced knowledge of software development methodologies, practices, concepts, and technologies
  • Advanced knowledge of at least one programming language and general knowledge of one or more additional programming languages
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
  • Ability to communicate technical direction and business value to technical and non-technical audiences
  • Ability to lead multiple efforts concurrently and work in a fast-paced, team-based environment
  • U.S. citizenship or current authorization to work in the United States without sponsorship
  • At least 18 years of age
  • Experience with Workday HCM, Payroll, Recruiting, Benefits, Security, and configuration
  • Experience with Workday Studio, EIB, Core Connectors, Workday Extend, and REST/SOAP APIs
  • Experience with Workday reporting, release management, testing, compliance, audits, and access governance

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.

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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

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The Company
HQ: Dallas, TX
28,585 Employees
Year Founded: 1971

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.

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