Director of Software Engineering

About SANS

Founded in 1989, SANS Institute (SANS) began as a cooperative research and education organization. Over the next 25 years, it grew to become the most trusted and widely recognized provider of information security training and certification in the world. Today, SANS has served more than 300,000 cybersecurity professionals around the world, with more than 60,000 earning Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) security certifications—the leading certification that provides assurance to employers that their people and prospective hires can do the job. 

At the heart of SANS is a community of practitioners, from auditors and network administrators to CISOs, who share their lessons learned and collaborate on solutions to the challenges they face. These experts, working across corporations, government agencies, and universities, come together to support and strengthen the global information security community.

Why SANS?

At SANS, our culture is defined by three pillars: Mission, Brand, and People.

• Our Mission is to hire people who understand the importance fighting against cybersecurity threats.
• Our Brand reflects a commitment to delivering the highest quality training. 
• Our People are grounded in a culture of fairness, honesty, customer focus, and a pragmatic approach.

What You’ll Achieve at SANS

We are seeking a Director of Software Engineering to join our Product Development team. This role plays a key part in providing senior technical and organizational leadership for SANS’ Cloud Platform Engineering organization — spanning platform core services (identity, product administration, and entitlements), DevOps tools and services, website engineering, and courseware & platform orchestration — while serving as the engineering executive for Project CORE, SANS’ enrollment and entitlement modernization program. This role leads individual contributors and engineering teams through their managers and leads; owns shared engineering platforms, standards, tooling, and vendor relationships; and drives the architecture, delivery, and cross-functional coordination required to modernize SANS’ enrollment, entitlement, and administrative systems. The Director partners closely with Product, Operations, Sales, Finance, and fellow engineering directors to translate business strategy into secure, scalable, and maintainable systems.

As a Director of Software Engineering, you will:

• Lead, manage, and mentor individual contributors and engineering teams through managers and leads.
• Own engineering standards and best practices — CI/CD, code quality, secure development — and facilitate architecture governance across teams.
• Plan and balance engineering capacity against shifting business priorities, communicating trade-offs to stakeholders.
• Lead strategic modernization programs end to end: architecture, cross-team commitments, delivery planning, and executive reporting.
• Direct modernization of core product platforms — enrollment, entitlement, identity, and product services — including integration with enterprise systems and retirement of legacy tooling.
• Measure engineering effectiveness and drive continuous improvement across teams.
• Champion incident management discipline and publish regular engineering communications to stakeholders.
• Other duties as assigned.

What We’re Looking For

Every SANS employee brings something unique. For this role, we’re looking for candidates with:

• BS or MS in Computer Science, related technical field, or equivalent industry experience.
• At least 10 years of software engineering experience, including 5+ years leading engineering teams and 3+ years managing through engineering managers or leads.
• Demonstrated success leading a large, multi-team modernization or systems-integration program from design through delivery.
• Strong technical acumen with prior hands-on development experience and the ability to guide architectural decisions across services, integrations, and data flows.
• Experience with modern AI development techniques and best practices.
• Experience with enterprise business systems and integrations (e.g., Salesforce/Service Cloud, identity providers, payment/order management).
• Experience with cloud infrastructure and DevOps practices, including AWS, CI/CD pipelines, containerization, and infrastructure as code.
• Experience managing vendor relationships, software procurement, licensing, and budgets.
• Experience with Agile, SDLC, and modern development standards and best practices.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level reporting and cross-functional coordination.
• Unrestricted authorization to work in the USA; visa sponsorship is not available.

Preferred qualifications include:

• Experience in education technology, training delivery platforms, or certification systems.
• Experience facilitating architecture governance (architecture councils, RFC processes, engineering standards).
• Familiarity with identity and access management platforms (PingIdentity, Entra ID) and entitlement modeling.
• Experience integrating AI-assisted development tooling and governing its safe, cost-effective adoption.
• Interest in a security-first mindset and secure coding practices.
• Ability and passion for developing both individuals and teams.

Benefits and Perks of Working at SANS

We’re committed to fair and equitable compensation. The expected salary range for this position is $200,000 to $240,000 OTE (comprised of base salary and bonus), depending on geographic location, skills, and experience. At SANS, pay equity and transparency are priorities.

We offer a comprehensive benefits package that supports your total well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Financial Benefits: Competitive base salary, bonus opportunities, and a 401(k) plan with company match.

• Health & Wellness: Robust medical, dental, and vision plans; company-provided short term disability; optional long-term disability, supplemental life and AD&D insurance for employees and dependents; voluntary benefits including accident insurance and identity theft protection; fitness and wellness programs; and a company paid employee assistance program (EAP).
• Time Off & Flexibility: Generous paid time off, including volunteer time.
• Learning & Development: Access to professional development and SANS training opportunities.

Flexibility and Balance at SANS

We support our colleagues with the tools and flexibility they need to thrive, both professionally and personally. As a primarily remote work environment, we are committed to maintaining strong connections, collaboration, and a vibrant culture across virtual teams. While most roles operate remotely, some positions may require occasional in-person presence depending on role-specific or business needs.

SANS is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer

SANS is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, disability, or any other federal, state, or local protected class.

If, because of a medical condition or disability, you require a reasonable accommodation during the application process, or to perform the essential functions of a position, please contact SANS Human Resources.

US Job Seekers: Click here to view the “Know Your Rights” poster.

SANS complies with all applicable state and local laws regarding the consideration of applicants with arrest or conviction records. For positions governed by federal and/or state banking regulations, SANS will adhere to relevant requirements when evaluating candidates with criminal histories.

Employment eligibility in the United States is required. SANS does not provide visa sponsorship for this position.