This is not a traditional management-only role. You will operate as a player-coach, actively engaging in system design, architecture reviews, and technical decision-making while leading globally distributed engineering teams.
Responsibilities Include, But Are Not Limited To:
Engineering & Platform Leadership
Own and drive the architecture and engineering strategy for scalable, cloud-native platforms across student/learner experience, applications, and data ecosystems.
Lead the design and evolution of systems using:
Backend: Python, Ruby on Rails, Clojure, or Elixir
Frontend: React, TypeScript, or HTML/CSS
Data: MySQL, PostgreSQL
Define and implement API-first, microservices, and event-driven architectures using modern design patterns.
Establish architectural standards across frontend, backend, and integrations, including scalability, resiliency, security, and performance optimization.
Drive build vs. buy vs. partner decisions, balancing speed, cost, and long-term platform ownership.
Ensure systems are designed for high availability, observability, and global scale.
Delivery, AI & DevOps Execution
Act as a hands-on technical leader across engineering and DevOps, owning how systems are designed, built, deployed, and operated
Lead architecture and design reviews, code quality, and resolution of complex production issues
Own end-to-end delivery and operations, including release cycles, system reliability, uptime, and performance
Drive DevOps practices across:
CI/CD: GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Argo
Containers: Docker, Kubernetes (EKS)
Infrastructure as Code: Terraform
Observability and monitoring
Lead and mentor teams, ensuring accountability for both delivery outcomes and production stability
Enable and guide adoption of AI/ML capabilities, including:
Integrating AI services, APIs, and intelligent workflows into platforms
Leveraging AI for automation, personalization, and engineering productivity (e.g., code generation, testing, operational insights)
Establish strong execution discipline through:
Definition of Ready / Done, sprint rigor, and release governance
Metrics such as velocity, cycle time, deployment frequency, MTTR, and uptime
Agile Leadership & Collaboration
Work closely with engineering, product, partner operations, and data teams in Agile environments.
Translate long-term architectural vision into incremental, executable delivery plans.
Participate actively in PI planning, sprint reviews, and technical design forums.
Mentor senior engineers, tech leads, and solution architects.
Things That Should Be In Your Background:
12-15+ years of progressive experience in software engineering, with 5+ years in leadership roles
Proven experience as a hands-on technical leader across engineering and DevOps
Strong expertise in at least one of the following in each area:
Languages: Python, TypeScript (Ruby, Clojure, or Elixir a plus)
Frontend: React ecosystem
Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL
OpenAI API (GPT models, embeddings, function calling), Azure OpenAI Service, Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex AI
Deep experience with AWS cloud ecosystem, Docker & Kubernetes (EKS), CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Argo), Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)
Experience designing and operating: Microservices architectures/Event-driven systems (Kafka or similar)
Proven experience owning production systems, uptime, and operational excellence
Other Attributes That Will Help You In This Role:
Experience in EdTech, Digital Media, eCommerce, or SaaS platforms
Experience building or scaling high-traffic, customer-facing platforms
Exposure to data platforms and event-driven data architectures
Experience modernizing legacy systems into cloud-native architectures
Experience working with global, distributed engineering team
Benefits
Vision insurance
Additional Information
At 2U, we are all in on purpose. We are motivated by our mission - to make learning limitless- and connected by our shared passion to deliver world-class higher education at scale. As the parent company of edX, a leading online learning platform, 2U powers thousands of higher education offerings - from free courses to full degrees. Together with our college, university, and corporate partners, we are helping accelerate careers and transform lives.
2u · Crystal City