Company: Western Governors University
Job Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Category: Software Engineer/Programmer
Type: Full-Time
Job Type: Full time
Job Number: JR-025882
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country-and you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that future-consider WGU as the next step in your career.
Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.
The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.
At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:
Grade: Technical 411 Pay Range: $161,000.00 - $249,500.00
Job Description
As a Staff Software Engineer focused on front-end development, you will play a critical role in shaping the user experience, technical direction, and engineering excellence of our platform. This role combines hands-on development with technical leadership, driving modern UI architecture, scalable solutions, and engineering best practices across multiple teams. You will partner with engineers, architects, product leaders, and stakeholders to solve complex technical challenges and deliver exceptional experiences for students, faculty, and staff.
What You'll Do
- Work with a team to design, develop, and evolve modern front-end applications using Angular and related technologies.
- Serve as a technical expert and trusted advisor across multiple engineering teams, influencing architecture, standards, and engineering practices.
- Partner with cross-functional teams to translate business and user needs into scalable, maintainable, and high-performing solutions.
- Drive front-end quality through robust regression testing strategies, automation, and continuous improvement of testing practices.
- Identify technical risks, systemic issues, and architectural challenges early, providing effective solutions and recommendations.
- Mentor engineers through technical guidance, design reviews, problem-solving, and knowledge sharing.
- Champion operational excellence, performance optimization, accessibility, reliability, and security across front-end platforms.
What You'll Bring
- Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field.
- 10 years of experience in software development, including experience pioneering new approaches and technologies in engineering.
- Experience developing web-based applications and web services using technologies such as Java, REST, SQL, GIT, and related tools.
- Expert-level experience building modern user interfaces with Angular 9+ and front-end development best practices.
- Strong understanding of UI architecture, component-based design, responsive development, and application performance optimization.
- Experience developing and executing regression testing strategies that balance software quality, speed, and efficiency.
- Deep understanding of software engineering principles including planning, coding, testing, security, algorithms, design patterns, fault tolerance, and system scalability.
- Experience working with cloud-based platforms and designing solutions for scale, reliability, and cost efficiency.
- Strong communication skills with the ability to influence stakeholders, mentor engineers, and present technical solutions effectively.
- Ability to identify, assess, and mitigate technical risks while driving consensus across teams.
Bonus Points
- Master's Degree or PhD in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field.
- Experience with Spring, Spring Boot, AWS Services, and enterprise-scale cloud applications.
- Experience with Salesforce development lifecycle practices and Salesforce governor limits.
- Experience with enterprise contact center technologies, telephony platforms, CTI, SIP/VoIP, IVRs, and related solutions.
Experience in Lieu of Education
Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this role may substitute for education requirements. Generally, equivalent relevant experience is defined as one year of experience for one year of education and is at the discretion of the hiring manager.
What to Expect
At WGU, our mission drives everything we do, including how we hire. Our interview experience is designed to give qualified candidates the opportunity to show their best work through meaningful conversations and collaboration.
We thoughtfully review every application and invite forward the candidates whose experience and potential best align with the role and our mission.
- Introductory call with a WGU Talent Partner
- Hiring manager interview
- Technical team interview
Work Location
This is a full-time, in-office position requiring five days per week in our Salt Lake City, Utah office, designed to foster the collaboration and connection that fuel our best work.
Visa Sponsorship
While we welcome applicants from all backgrounds, WGU is not able to provide visa sponsorship for this role.
Travel Requirement
This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements.
Position & Application Details
Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.
How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.
Additional Information
Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive.
Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.
Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.