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Director of Software Engineering & SRE

Penn Foster Group •2023–Present •Remote

Transformed a PE-backed enterprise SaaS platform serving ~500K users by stabilizing chaotic release cycles, reducing technical debt ~30%, cutting six-figure monthly cloud spend, and building a pod-based operating model (~80 engineers) capable of predictable, outcome-driven execution. Expanded scope into interim data leadership to modernize analytics governance and democratize business access to data.

Context

~80 engineers across Engineering, SRE, QA, PM, and Data
~40 direct functional leadership
50/50 onshore–offshore delivery
Mid–seven-figure annual platform investment
~500K active users across learner and partner platforms
PE-backed, multi-brand environment

Scope

Owned modernization and reliability outcomes across:

Learner experience platform
Enrollment systems
Identity / authentication / authorization
Enterprise data platform (Databricks – interim leadership)

Mandate: build a technology structure capable of delivering business value faster and more predictably.

Business Outcomes

Reduced technical debt ~30% by decommissioning legacy systems and consolidating architecture.
Cut six-figure monthly cloud spend through Azure consolidation and governance discipline.
Transitioned teams from reactive, unstable release cycles to predictable delivery cadence.
Built foundation for new learning and partner-facing applications under unified platform model.
Advanced self-service data strategy to improve executive and business reporting readiness.

Leadership Plays

Designed and implemented pod-based operating model with clear domain ownership.
Rebuilt release governance to improve sprint predictability and executive visibility.
Stabilized underperforming teams and expanded scope as results compounded.
Assumed interim data leadership to align analytics capabilities with strategic priorities.

Organizational Evolution

Promoted three engineering managers who now operate independently.
Increased cross-functional trust between engineering, product, and data.
Shifted culture from reactive delivery to ownership-based execution.

Technology

Azure-based modernization (microservices + event-driven architecture)
Identity platform redesign for scalable authentication & authorization
Databricks governance & DBU optimization
Structured release discipline aligned to business roadmap

Notes

This role marked the transition from engineering execution leadership to enterprise-scale operating model and platform strategy ownership.