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:
As a Tech Lead Software Engineer on the Customer360 Technology Team, you’ll lead the design and delivery of solutions that power how Southwest understands and serves our Customers. You’ll guide a Team of Engineers in building highly reliable, scalable applications across Salesforce, servicing technologies, and AI‑enabled capabilities, while ensuring strong technical quality and alignment with both business and architectural standards. Acting as a bridge between Development Teams, business stakeholders, and Leadership, you’ll shape technical direction, mentor Engineers, and bring clarity to complex Customer‑focused initiatives.
Working closely with partners across Customer Service, Customer Experience & Engagement, Digital, Innovation, and Technology, you’ll help translate evolving business needs into practical, high‑impact solutions. In this role, you’ll balance hands‑on development with technical leadership—driving design decisions, improving systems, and enabling your team to deliver with confidence. Your work will directly support efforts to create a more connected, intelligent, and seamless Customer Experience at Southwest.
Additional details
This role allows for voluntary remote work for the majority of your working time within the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with occasional on-site presence at our Corporate Campus for training, meetings, and business needs. This role may also require limited travel for business purposes.
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.
- 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
- 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
- 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: Expert level experience, expansive and far reaching knowledge in software engineering
Preferred: Experience with Salesforce AI capabilities (e.g., Einstein, Prompt Builder, Data Cloud, AI Cloud) and how they support sales, service, and Customer operations
Preferred: Experience working with customer data platforms, including Salesforce Data Cloud/Data360 concepts such as unified profiles, data harmonization, and activation across customer journeys
Preferred: Experience designing or implementing AI‑driven solutions within enterprise platforms that support Customer‑facing workflows
Preferred: Experience integrating AI solutions with CRM data sources, APIs, and middleware technologies (e.g., MuleSoft, Kafka)
Preferred: Familiarity with AWS tools supporting AI development and orchestration (e.g., Bedrock, SageMaker, agent‑based workflows)
- 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 $160,550 per year to $178,260 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 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
*The pay amount doesn’t guarantee employment for any particular period.
**401(k) Company match contributions are subject to the plan’s vesting schedule. Match contributions may vary based on the position.
***Profit-sharing contributions are subject to the 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 similar (or equivalent advanced experience)
- Expert-level experience in software engineering
- Advanced knowledge of software development methodologies, practices, concepts, and technologies
- Advanced knowledge of at least one programming language
- Project management methodology and principles (knowledge)
- U.S. citizenship or current authorization to work in the U.S.; no sponsorship available
- Must be at least 18 years of age
- Ability to communicate in English and use computer and office productivity tools
- Experience with Salesforce AI capabilities (Einstein, Prompt Builder, Data Cloud, AI Cloud)
- Experience with customer data platforms and Salesforce Data Cloud/Data360 (unified profiles, data harmonization, activation)
- Experience designing or implementing AI-driven solutions within enterprise platforms supporting customer workflows
- Experience integrating AI solutions with CRM data sources, APIs, and middleware technologies (MuleSoft, Kafka)
- Familiarity with AWS tools supporting AI development and orchestration (Bedrock, SageMaker, agent-based workflows)
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.
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