Ascend Learning, Inc.
Manager, Software Development (Information Technology)
Ascend Learning; LLC (www.ascendlearning.com) is a leading provider of technology-based educational, curriculum and assessment solutions for high-growth careers in a range of industries, including healthcare, fitness and wellness, and insurance and financial services. We provide outcomes-based solutions aimed at helping people enter, sustain and succeed in their chosen fields. Ascend employs more than 1,000 employees, with headquarters in Burlington, Mass., and offices in Kansas City metro, Phoenix metro, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Walnut Creek, California, Ann Arbor, Michigan, New York, and the U.K.
Job Overview
We are searching for a Software Engineering Development Manager in our Ascend Learning Technology organization. The Software Engineer Development Manager will have responsibility for overseeing the developing, testing, implementation, and maintenance of software applications in a for-profit organization utilizing multiple technologies. This is a full-time position in our Burlington, MA office.
A development manager in the Ascend Learning Technology organization will be expected to function and lead in a DevOps culture. This includes working on an agile software development team and being part of a DevOps culture within that team that includes full accountability for the teams output. The development manager facilitates our E-Learning platform team's activities, removes impediments, and provides leadership. This individual will partner with other leaders in the organization to coordinate and prioritize backlog for a product, as well as ensure that the scrum process is used properly for the collective team. The development manager will directly manage software engineers and platform analysts on the E-Learning platform team(s).
Responsibilities & Duties
Required Skills
Written Communications: Able to write clearly and succinctly in a variety of communication settings and styles; can get messages across that have the desired effect.
Planning: Able to participate in iteration planning discussions, provide estimations on tasks for stories, and be willing to stick to commitments made in each iteration.
Functional Design: Capable of leveraging a deep functional knowledge of the solution/platform to clearly articulate via stories in JIRA what the desired end state of a feature is to software engineers. Also needs to be able to communication testing requirements for quality assurance testing purposes for a given feature. The Platform Analyst needs to understand the core principles of agile software development, and be able to function in an environment where they can develop an understanding of both features in development, but also features encapsulated in backlog.
Software Quality: Understand the foundations of good software development. Provide adequate unit testing on all new development, and show a commitment to ensure that any code promoted from the engineers IDE to an integration environment has been thoroughly unit tested. Show an ability and willingness to partner with quality resources on quality testing efforts, including making any necessary refactoring efforts to ensure the highest quality of software. The Ascend Learning Software Engineer also must be able to produce supportable software, meaning that new code can be monitored, that monitoring is accounted for in development, and that the code can be easily deployed through an automated methodology as part of Ascend's DevOps culture.
Customer Focus: Dedicated to meeting the expectation and requirements of internal business units and external customers through the SDLC. This includes working to ensure that assigned stories are completed within the respective iteration.
Education and Experience
Ascend Learning, LLC is proud to be an equal opportunity employer (M/F/Vets/Disabled). No agency or search firm submissions will be accepted. Applications for U.S. based positions with Ascend Learning, LLC must be legally authorized to work in the United States and verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.