Associate Software Engineer - Direct College Hire

Department:

Technology

Our 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:

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Our Technology Direct College Hire Program is a pathway for early-career technology professionals with up to two years of professional experience, including recent college graduates ready to begin the next chapter of their careers. Through this program you’ll receive hands-on experience, mentorship, professional development, and networking opportunities, you'll build meaningful connections, strengthen your technical skills, and gain the experience needed for long-term success. We're currently hiring for cohorts beginning in January, June, and August 2027.

As an Associate Software Engineer joining our Direct College Hire program, you'll design, develop, test, and support technology solutions that power critical business functions across Southwest Airlines. Working in a collaborative Agile environment, you'll contribute to the delivery of scalable applications, APIs, cloud-based platforms, and digital experiences while learning from experienced engineers and building your technical expertise. You'll partner with Team Members across Technology and the business to solve real-world challenges, support innovative solutions, and help deliver reliable technology that keeps Southwest running. Whether supporting Customer-facing products, operational systems, AI platforms, workforce solutions, or corporate applications, you'll have opportunities to grow your skills, make meaningful contributions, and create an impact from day one.

We’re hiring multiple Associate Software Engineer roles in the Technology Department. Selected Candidates will support one of the following Teams:

Air Operations – Crew Portfolio

Offers opportunities to support one of two Teams within the Crew Portfolio. The Crew Certification Team focuses on ensuring the reliability, quality, and performance of applications that support Southwest Crew Members through test automation, quality engineering, and modernization initiatives. The Crew Recovery Team supports technology solutions used during operational disruptions, leveraging cloud-based applications, automation frameworks, AI-enabled tools, and modern software delivery practices to help keep airline operations running smoothly.

Air Operations - Customer and Commercial (Network Planning)

The Customer & Commercial Team develops and supports the applications that power Southwest's network planning and flight scheduling capabilities, providing the foundation for selling tickets and operating flights across the airline. Using modern cloud technologies and engineering practices, the Team is transforming critical scheduling systems and building new capabilities that support how flight schedules are created, managed, and shared. Team Members gain hands-on experience working on business-critical solutions that directly impact airline operations and the travel experience of millions of Customers.

Digital & Customer - Southwest Business

Supports the cloud-native platform that powers Southwest's New Distribution Capability (NDC) channel, enabling shopping, pricing, and order management for travel agencies and partners. Team Members contribute to modern airline retailing initiatives while gaining experience with cloud engineering, serverless AWS technologies, automation, CI/CD pipelines, and enterprise-scale software development in a collaborative Agile environment.

Digital & Customer - Customer and Commercial

The Customer & Commercial Team develops and supports the backend APIs and integration services that power Southwest's iOS and Android applications, enabling mobile experiences to seamlessly interact with core business systems. As part of the Native API Pod, the Team supports product initiatives across Digital Platforms and builds scalable solutions that serve more than 35 million Customers. Using modern cloud technologies and engineering practices, the Team contributes to major digital transformations such as Assigned Seating, Native App Modernization, and Trip Insurance while collaborating across Digital Platforms, Digital Experience, and Marketing to deliver innovative Customer-focused solutions.

People & Finance - Workforce Management Solutions

The Workforce Management Solutions Team develops and supports scheduling, timekeeping, and attendance solutions for Southwest Employees through the industry-leading UKG Pro WFM platform. Using a modern AWS technology stack, the Team delivers cloud-based workforce management capabilities and builds new solutions powered by APIs and emerging AI technologies.

People & Finance - Corporate Facilities, Legal & Government Affairs

The Corporate Facilities, Legal, and Government Affairs Team develops and supports products that power essential business functions, including contract lifecycle management, workplace management systems, and lease management. Partnering with a diverse group of stakeholders, the Team builds and enhances cloud-based solutions that support strategic business initiatives while providing broad exposure to multiple areas of Southwest's operations and business functions.

Intelligence Platforms - Customer CARE (Payroll and Leave)

The Payroll & Leave Team develops and supports solutions that ensure accurate payroll and leave management for Southwest's Customer CARE Employees, a unionized workforce where precision and reliability are critical. Working closely with business Partners and SaaS vendors such as Infor, the Team supports complex payroll processes, troubleshooting, and system enhancements while ensuring compliance with contractual requirements. This collaborative Team provides exposure to workforce management processes, union agreements, and operational support, offering opportunities to build technical, business, and problem-solving skills while supporting a function that directly impacts Employee trust and operational stability.

Intelligence Platforms - AI Common Platform

The AI Common Platform Team develops and supports the shared infrastructure, services, and tools that enable AI solutions across Southwest. Using modern AWS technologies and engineering practices, the Team builds reusable platform capabilities that help simplify AI development, allowing Teams to focus on creating innovative AI-powered experiences and business solutions.

Intelligence Platforms - Customer360

The Trailblazers Pod is one of three Salesforce Teams within the Customer360 Organization, building and supporting the platform that powers Customer service experiences across Southwest. The Team develops solutions for Service Console, case management, Service Cloud Voice, and commercial initiatives that help Employees better serve Customers every day. Team Members work in a collaborative AI-accelerated Agile environment and have the opportunity to make a visible impact through technology used across the airline.

Tech & Ground Ops - Ops Suite GO (Ground Operations)

The Ops Suite GO Team develops and supports applications that provide real-time visibility into Aircraft and Station Operations, including flight, passenger, crew, and aircraft information that supports the status of the Turn. Leveraging modern technologies, event-driven architecture, microservices, and AI, the Team builds solutions that help support efficient Ground Operations and on-time departures.

Tech & Ground Ops - Emergency Response

Emergency Response within Flight Safety, Security, Regulatory & the Emergency Response Technology Program develops and supports applications and technology solutions that help Southwest prepare for, manage, and recover from significant operational events. Using modern AWS technologies and engineering practices, the Team enhances and supports business-critical applications that enable operational readiness, emergency response coordination, reporting, and continuous improvement. Team Members gain experience in application development, automation, monitoring, testing, and system reliability while contributing to modernization initiatives that strengthen Southwest's operational resilience and support its People.

Additional Details

• This role is offered as a remote workplace position, which may require travel for training, meetings, conferences, etc. Outside of those required visits, the majority of your working time may be spent in a remote location, away from our Corporate Campus. Please note, while this is a remote position, there is a limited group of states or localities ineligible for Employees to regularly perform their work. Those ineligible locations are: Alaska, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Washington, Wyoming, and Puerto Rico. Applicants must reside in an eligible state by their first day of employment. Relocation assistance is not provided for this position.
• 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.

Responsibilities

• Apply knowledge and skills of software development and testing to solve a range of problems
• Leverage knowledge to inform technical and non-technical requirements to apply to Business domain fundamentals
• Maintain understanding of current technologies or programming practices through continuing education, reading, or participation in professional conferences, workshops, or groups
• Troubleshoot program and system malfunctions to restore normal functioning across environments, including production
• Evaluate code to ensure that it is valid, is properly structured, and meets industry standards
• Analyze user needs and software requirements to determine feasibility of design within time and cost constraints
• Contribute to Team-level technical discussion and decisions and identify opportunities for Team improvement
• Follow agile delivery processes to drive work and has a sense of urgency about getting work completed
• May perform other job duties as directed by Employee's Leaders

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Proficient knowledge of software development methodologies, practices, concepts, and technologies
• Ability to apply knowledge and skills of software development and testing to solve a range of problems
• Proficient knowledge of at least one required programming language
• Ability to communicate and negotiate with various Technology or partner Teams
• Ability to analyze large, complex, and vague Business or technical problems, articulating the problem or root cause, and translating the analysis into viable solution recommendations
• Ability to take on multiple assignments, whether administrative or project related, while maintaining a successful level of completion in all responsible work
• Ability to develop, present and effectively communicate ideas and strategies to a variety of audiences

Education

• Required: High School Diploma or GED
• Required: Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, Cybersecurity, or related field; or equivalent formal training

Experience

• Required: Entry level experience, developing skills and knowledge in software engineering
• Preferred: Intermediate level experience, fully functioning broad knowledge in:
  • Data structures, algorithms, debugging, testing, and object-oriented design principles
  • Programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, Python, C#, Node.js, or similar object-oriented programming languages
  • AWS cloud services and concepts, including Lambda, S3, Fargate, DynamoDB, EventBridge, ECS, Kinesis, and SQS
  • Generative AI concepts and foundational understanding
  • API development, integration, and service-oriented architectures (RESTful services and microservices)
  • Agile or Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) methodologies
  • Applying systems thinking to solve complex and ambiguous business or technical challenges
  • Building strong relationships and establishing trust across cross-functional teams and stakeholders

Licensing/Certification

• N/A

Physical Abilities

• 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

Other Qualifications

• 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 $89,450 per year to $99,400 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 401(k) retirement savings 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 

*Pay amount does not guarantee employment for any particular period of time. 

**401(k) match contributions are subject to Retirement Savings Plan vesting schedule and applicable IRS limits. 

***ProfitSharing contributions are subject to 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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