Lead Software Engineer

Company

Cox Automotive - USAEngineering / Product DevelopmentLead Software EngineerManager - Non People LeaderHybrid - Ability to work remotely part of the weekNoDay

Compensation

Compensation includes a base salary in the range of $122,600.00 - $204,400.00. The base salary may vary within the anticipated base pay range based on factors such as the ultimate location of the position and the selected candidate’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. Position may be eligible for additional compensation that may include an incentive program.

Role Summary:

The Lead Software Engineer provides technical leadership while remaining hands-on in the design, development, and delivery of software solutions. This role operates above the Senior Software Engineer level and is accountable for architectural guidance compliance, code quality, engineering best practices, and mentoring across one or more teams. The Lead Software Engineer partners with Product, Architecture, and Engineering leadership to ensure systems are scalable, secure, maintainable, and aligned with organizational technology standards. The role also includes responsibility for adopting and applying AI-assisted engineering practices to improve productivity, quality, and operational efficiency.

Key Responsibilities:

Technical Leadership

• Lead technical design and architectural decisions for features, services, or platforms.
• Ensure adherence to engineering standards, design patterns, security practices, and performance requirements.
• Review and approve technical designs and code changes.
• Decompose epics and features into technical tasks and implementation plans.
• Identify technical risks, dependencies, and trade-offs and propose mitigation strategies.
• Lead root-cause analysis and resolution of complex production issues.
  

Software Development

• Design, develop, test, and deploy software solutions across the technology stack.
• Write and maintain unit, integration, and automated tests.
• Ensure production readiness, reliability, and observability of systems.
• Maintain ownership of supported applications and services.
  

AI-Assisted Engineering

• Apply AI-assisted development tools to improve code quality, testing, and documentation.
• Use AI to support code reviews, refactoring, test generation, and defect analysis.
• Evaluate AI capabilities for improving CI/CD pipelines, monitoring, and operational efficiency.
• Ensure responsible and secure use of AI tools in accordance with organizational policies.
• Contribute to defining standards and best practices for AI adoption within engineering teams.
  

Mentorship and Team Enablement

• Mentor senior, mid-level, and junior engineers on design, coding practices, and problem solving.
• Provide technical guidance through code reviews, design sessions, and peer programming.
• Support skill development in cloud, DevOps, and AI-related engineering practices.
• Promote a culture of accountability, quality, and continuous improvement.
  

Cloud, DevOps and Operations

• Lead the use of cloud-native and serverless architectures.
• Oversee infrastructure health, cost optimization, security posture, and performance.
• Improve CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.
• Ensure operational excellence and production support readiness.
  

Role Expectations:

• Technical Ownership: Accountable for end-to-end technical delivery of assigned systems or domains.
• Architectural Influence: Contributes to system and platform-level technical direction.
• Decision-Making: Makes informed technical decisions balancing quality, speed, cost, and risk.
• Adaptability: Adjusts technical approaches in response to changing requirements or priorities.
• Continuous Learning: Maintains current knowledge of software engineering, cloud, DevOps, and AI technologies.
  

Required Skills and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree and 6 years’ experience in a related field. The right candidate could also have a different combination, such as a master’s degree and 4 years’ experience; a Ph.D. and 1 year of experience; or 18 years’ experience in a related field.
• Strong experience designing and building web-based or distributed systems.
• Proficiency in one or more modern programming languages such as Python, Java, or JavaScript/TypeScript.
• Experience building and deploying applications in cloud environments (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Experience with Git-based version control and CI/CD pipelines.
• Demonstrated experience leading technical initiatives and mentoring engineers.
  

AI Skills and Competencies

• Experience using AI-assisted development tools for coding, testing, and documentation.
• Ability to evaluate AI-generated outputs for correctness, security, and maintainability.
• Understanding of prompt design, context management, and limitations of AI tools.
• Experience integrating AI services or APIs into software systems.
• Knowledge of data privacy, security, and ethical considerations related to AI usage.
• Ability to guide teams in effective and responsible AI adoption.
  

Level Differentiation Compared to Senior Software Engineer

• Leads technical direction rather than executing assigned designs.
• Mentors and enables multiple engineers rather than primarily contributing as an individual contributor.
• Owns system-level outcomes rather than feature-level tasks.
• Influences engineering standards, tooling, and practices across teams.
• Drives architectural strategy and technical excellence across broader organizational initiatives.

To be employed in this role, you’ll need to clear a pre-employment drug test. Cox Automotive does not currently administer a pre-employment drug test for marijuana for this position. However, we are a drug-free workplace, so the possession, use or being under the influence of drugs illegal under federal or state law during work hours, on company property and/or in company vehicles is prohibited.The Company offers eligible employees the flexibility to take as much vacation with pay as they deem consistent with their duties, the company’s needs, and its obligations; seven paid holidays throughout the calendar year; and up to 160 hours of paid wellness annually for their own wellness or that of family members. Employees are also eligible for additional paid time off in the form of bereavement leave, time off to vote, jury duty leave, volunteer time off, military leave, and parental leave.Through groundbreaking technology and a commitment to stellar experiences for drivers and dealers alike, Cox Automotive employees are transforming the way the world buys, owns, sells – or simply uses – cars. Cox Automotive employees get to work on iconic consumer brands like Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book and industry-leading dealer-facing companies like vAuto and Manheim, all while enjoying the people-centered atmosphere that is central to our life at Cox. Benefits of working at Cox may include health care insurance (medical, dental, vision), retirement planning (401(k)), and paid days off (sick leave, parental leave, flexible vacation/wellness days, and/or PTO). For more details on what benefits you may be offered, visit our benefits page. Cox is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer – All qualified applicants/employees will receive consideration for employment without regard to that individual’s age, race, color, religion or creed, national origin or ancestry, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, ethnicity, citizenship, or any other characteristic protected by law. Cox provides reasonable accommodations when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with disability, unless such accommodations would cause an undue hardship.EOE, including disability/vets