Director of Software Engineering

Job title: Director of Software Engineering

About the Role The National Hockey League (NHL) is seeking an experienced Director of Software Engineering with strong expertise in API design and relational database modeling to design and implement high-performance backend services and RESTful APIs powering our consumer-facing and internal applications. This role combines technical excellence with leadership to mentor teams and drive architectural decisions.

What You'll Do

• Backend development: build high-performance, scalable backend services using Java; write clean, maintainable code; design and implement caching strategies; robust error handling and logging; contribute to unit and integration testing; work on multi-tier distributed applications.
• API Design & Development: design and implement RESTful APIs following industry standards; create API specifications with OpenAPI/Swagger; ensure versioning, backward compatibility; implement OAuth 2.0 and SAML-based authentication; establish API design guidelines; optimize for CDN performance and cache hit ratios; utilize API testing frameworks; monitor API performance.
• Leadership: mentor junior developers on API design and data modeling; participate in code reviews; lead technical design discussions and architectural decisions; contribute to technical documentation; collaborate with operations on observability metrics.

What We're Looking For

• 8+ years of backend development experience with at least 3 years focused on API design.
• Strong understanding of RESTful principles, HTTP protocols, and web standards; proven ability to design scalable, maintainable APIs.
• Preferred experience with Apache Cayenne and Agrest REST frameworks; knowledge of API gateway patterns and service mesh concepts.
• Experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes) and CI/CD (Bamboo).
• Experience with data processing frameworks (Apache Spark DataFrame API, DFLib); familiarity with event-driven architectures.
• Proficiency in Python; experience with cloud platforms (AWS), S3, Kinesis, DynamoDB.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Preferred

• Contributions to open-source projects.
• Knowledge of CDN optimization and API performance monitoring.

Nice to Have

• Open-source contributions and familiarity with additional API frameworks.
• Experience with service mesh concepts and related tooling.

Compensation & Benefits

• Time to Recharge: generous Paid Time Off (PTO) including paid holidays, vacation, personal and sick days, plus an extra day off for your birthday.
• Health benefits: comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage effective on day one with minimal employee cost; Employee Assistance Program (EAP); digital wellness resources focused on sleep, movement, and focus.
• Childcare Leave: comprehensive childcare leave for new additions.

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