Vice President, Engineering

As the Vice President of Engineering at Western Governors University, you'll lead a global engineering organization dedicated to building core product platforms. Your key responsibilities will include managing several Directors, defining engineering best practices, shaping strategic roadmaps, and ensuring effective collaboration across business and technical teams. This leadership role emphasizes creating a high-performance culture aligned with WGU's goals of improving online education.

To qualify for the Vice President of Engineering role at Western Governors University, you should possess over 10 years of engineering experience, with a minimum of 5 years in a leadership role managing multi-team organizations at scale. A degree in Computer Science or a related field is essential, along with extensive knowledge of enterprise software delivery, agile methodologies, and experience in distributed teams. Proven leadership in fast-paced, complex environments is highly valued.

Success as the Vice President of Engineering at WGU requires strong leadership, collaboration skills, and the ability to inspire and motivate diverse teams. A solid technical foundation to engage with engineering challenges, along with expertise in agile practices, is crucial. Additionally, being a strategic partner to the CIO and showcasing a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion will define your effectiveness in this role.

The Vice President of Engineering at Western Governors University plays a critical role in fulfilling the university's mission by developing innovative edtech platforms that expand access to higher education. By leading engineering initiatives that leverage user insights and best practices, you will directly impact students' learning experiences, helping them achieve their educational goals and build better futures.

WGU boasts a collaborative and supportive work culture that emphasizes inclusivity and continuous learning. As the Vice President of Engineering, you will lead by example, fostering an environment where teams are empowered, self-sufficient, and engaged in high-performance goals. The culture is focused on driving tech excellence, embracing diversity, and ensuring that every team member contributes to the mission of enhancing educational opportunities for students.

When answering this question, highlight your understanding of agile methodologies, continuous integration, and lean practices. Discuss how implementing these practices can enhance team efficiency and product quality. Emphasize the importance of adapting engineering processes to meet the dynamic needs of an educational institution like WGU.

Talk about strategies such as embedding agile methodologies, creating cross-functional teams, and fostering a culture of urgency and ownership. Provide examples from your past experience where you successfully increased the delivery cadence while ensuring quality and responsiveness to user needs.

Emphasize the importance of open communication, shared goals, and regular check-ins across departments. Share specific techniques you've used in previous roles to facilitate collaboration, such as joint planning sessions or utilizing collaboration tools to keep teams aligned on project objectives.

This is a chance to showcase your commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Discuss how you have successfully fostered diverse teams in the past and highlight strategies that promote teamwork and respect among varying perspectives. Mention specific initiatives that enhanced diversity in previous organizations.

Identify potential challenges such as communication barriers, differing team dynamics, and aligning various objectives. Discuss how your leadership style can mitigate these challenges, focusing on collaboration, motivating teams, and ensuring clarity of purpose.

Success can be defined through metrics such as software delivery performance, team engagement, and quality of output. Share how you would implement methods for measuring these success indicators while ensuring alignment with WGU's overall mission and goals.

Discuss the importance of mentorship, providing clear feedback, and establishing growth opportunities. Highlight previous experiences where you effectively cultivated talent and nurtured team members to reach their potential, contributing to the success of the engineering organization.

Share the resources and networks you rely on, such as industry publications, conferences, and professional organizations. Discuss how staying informed allows you to lead your team by integrating new technologies and methodologies that align with the educational tech landscape.

Speak about the importance of understanding the university's mission, stakeholder needs, and industry trends. Describe your method for aligning engineering initiatives with broader university goals, including collaborative planning sessions and regular communication with executive leadership.

Explain how empathy is foundational to your leadership philosophy. Discuss its importance in understanding team dynamics, fostering a supportive culture, and ensuring that team members feel heard and valued, leading to enhanced motivation and productivity.