Engineering Director

Overview

The New Jersey State Office of Innovation is looking for diverse and experienced team members to deploy world-class innovative and digital services that solve pressing public interest challenges for the people of New Jersey. Our work spans numerous issue and policy areas, and is focused on making an impact in the lives of the New Jerseyans that we serve. Our work has decreased the amount of time it takes to apply for Unemployment Insurance, made it easier to start, operate, and grow a business in the Garden State, and connected millions of New Jerseyans to government programs, services, and benefits.

Our team members wear many hats, contributing to both the execution of core projects and the evolution of the Office of Innovation (OOI). We use data and modern research, design, and development methods to inform our decision making, and we collaborate with stakeholders within and outside of government to understand and solve challenges. To learn more about the New Jersey State Office of Innovation, read our inaugural impact report here and visit our About Us page.

The engineering director collaborates with their co-director to champion engineering excellence, oversee project staffing, and mentor a diverse and talented team. Working closely with organizational leadership, the engineering directors help cultivate a culture that prioritizes collaboration and innovative problem-solving, ensuring that the needs of residents remain at the forefront of efforts and that impactful outcomes guide the work.

We are seeking candidates with a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in software development, along with at least 1 year of professional experience in people management and engineering leadership. As an engineering director, you should be an accomplished engineer with experience in leading end-to-end development, product planning, and execution as you will contribute to project work as well as office leadership and management functions.

This role will report to the Chief Innovation Officer, partner with the current engineering director as a co-leader, and work closely with initiative leads and other team members across the office. Responsibilities may include:

Engineering practice leadership

• Collaborate closely with their engineering co-director to support the health of the organization-wide engineering practice.
• Establish and promote standards, facilitate knowledge sharing, and maintain a high level of engineering excellence in our organization.
• Contribute to hiring and onboarding new engineers.

Strategic organizational leadership

• Assess new project opportunities and collaborate with directors and initiative leads to drive project intake.
• Manage project staffing and support and advise projects in achieving technical outcomes.

People management

• Coach and foster the growth and evolution of engineers.
• Conduct regular one-on-one meetings with direct reports to offer feedback, support professional development, and help team members navigate project challenges.

Engineering delivery

• Deliver public-facing digital products in collaboration with product managers, designers, and diverse stakeholders.
• Solve challenges using a wide toolkit that includes writing code, translating user needs into technical decisions, mapping out technical options, and operating as a solution architect to take problems that may be poorly specified and find the best software solutions.
• Own features end-to-end, from planning to structuring architecture to designing and building front-end interfaces.

Iterative human-centered product development

• Apply leading industry development practices to solve complex problems through the use of human-centered design, open-source development and innovation, data-driven decision making, and agile development practices.
• Participate actively in agile product development, including user research, analysis, and synthesis. Be able to manage a project team and coordinate activities between teammates.

Technical project leadership

• Build the technical capacity of the team and State, coordinate and establish development processes, and work with in-house department and agency technical teams to execute successfully.
• Provide counsel on technical matters in plain language to our team and stakeholders. Interact and facilitate conversations with a diverse range of individuals, including NJ residents, state partners, and government officials.

Do what’s needed for the team

• Execute additional duties and responsibilities to advance the Office of Innovation’s mission and work.

Experience, Skills, and Abilities

• A minimum of 5 years of professional experience in software development and a commitment to engineering excellence in yourself and your work.
• At least 1 year of professional experience in people management and engineering leadership.
• Professional experience in managing and scaling an engineering team as an empathetic leader dedicated to advocating for, mentoring, and uplifting engineers to help them succeed.
• Experience working at all levels of the development stack, including but not limited to: frontend web applications, backend APIs and databases, cloud infrastructure, DevOps, and pipelines.
• Experience with technologies such as: modern JavaScript, React, CSS, HTML, JavaScript libraries and frameworks, linting, and best practices, Amazon Web Services (AWS), SQL and NoSQL document store persistence, and Git/GitHub version control.
• Experience executing full lifecycle software development from ground-zero development to managing an application in production, including well-designed code, high quality automated tests, designing infrastructure, debugging issues and ensuring system uptime, and writing documentation.
• Experience solving complex problems through the use of human-centered design, agile iterative development, and data-driven decision making.
• Proven skill in tackling problems with curiosity, engaging in inquiry, and understanding user needs to develop optimal solutions.
• Dedicated to advancing the mission of the NJ Office of Innovation and public service, with a strong commitment to accessibility and fostering a more inclusive society.

We welcome applicants from a broad range of backgrounds. If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply. If you have any questions, please contact heather@innovation.nj.gov.

Compensation: $151,410 + Full benefits.

The New Jersey Office of Innovation is proud to be an equal opportunity employer

We are deeply committed to the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusiveness and seek to create a pluralistic community for all. We strongly encourage people of color, members of racial and ethnic minority groups, women, LGBTQI+ people, those with disabilities, and Veterans to apply. We are committed to building a team that is reflective of New Jersey’s incredible diversity.

We do not discriminate against any candidate because of color, race, age, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, membership in an employee organization, pregnancy, marital status, status as a parent, ancestry, national origin, disability (physical or mental), family medical history or genetic information, political affiliation, military service, retaliation, or other non-merit based factors.

Eligibility

You must be authorized to work in the United States. Candidates may be required to pass a background check and complete additional steps as part of the application and onboarding process. You will be considered an “at-will” employee, meaning both employer and employee have the right to terminate employment with or without cause or notice.