Software Engineer II

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Grade: Technical 408

Pay Range: $118,900.00 - $178,500.00

Job Description

Impact at WGU

As a Software Engineer II, you will help research, design, develop, test, and implement applications and software systems that support WGU’s mission. You will contribute to an experienced engineering team while applying your technical knowledge to deliver reliable, scalable, and accessible solutions.

• Contribute to meaningful technology solutions that support WGU students and teams.
• Take ownership of projects and services within an assigned engineering area.
• Develop expertise across software engineering and at least one technical specialty.
• Help deliver projects on time, within scope, and within budget.
• Use AI-assisted development tools responsibly to improve productivity and code quality.
• Collaborate with engineering, product, operations, and other partners.
• Continue growing your technical expertise through knowledge sharing and hands-on experience.

What You’ll Do

• Research, design, develop, analyze, test, implement, and support software applications and systems.
• Translate functional, non-functional, and implied requirements into designs and code while identifying gaps, risks, and potential solutions.
• Write technical requirements, maintain complete documentation, and communicate project information to appropriate partners.
• Use testing strategies, peer code reviews, and automated testing practices to maintain quality while balancing delivery timelines and costs.
• Identify system problems quickly and contribute to restoring services while keeping leadership informed of significant issues.
• Leverage AI-assisted development tools for code completion, generation, and debugging while maintaining established quality and review standards.
• Participate in knowledge-sharing activities and contribute to the overall effectiveness and success of the engineering team.

What You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or related field.
• 3 years of experience and a proven track record in developing web-based applications and web services using Java, REST, and other web technologies.
• 2 years of experience with software, Java (Spring), JavaScript (Node.js), React, Angular.
• Experience interfacing with databases and integrating third party products with existing infrastructure.
• Understanding of software development processes, including planning, coding, testing, security, algorithms, complexity, reuse, and measurement.
• Ability to design applications that meet functional and non-functional requirements while appropriately applying design patterns, security, system decomposition, and fault tolerance.
• Ability to communicate effectively, identify and escalate risks appropriately, and collaborate with engineers, operations teams, and other partners.

Bonus Points

• Experience with IntelliJ or VS Code, JIRA, GIT, Agile/Scrum development, IDM/OSSO, Hibernate, J2EE, Java EE, JavaScript, or SQL.
• Experience with AI-assisted development tools, cloud-native development, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, or the migration of on-site applications to the cloud.
• Relevant technical certifications, such as AWS or Java certifications, and experience integrating applications with legacy systems.

Experience in Lieu of Education

Equivalent relevant experience performing the essential functions of this job may substitute for education degree requirements.

• Generally, one year of relevant experience may substitute for one year of education.
• Experience equivalency is at the discretion of the hiring manager.

What to Expect

At WGU, our mission drives everything we do, including how we hire. Our interview experience is designed to give qualified candidates the opportunity to show their best work through meaningful conversations and collaboration.

We thoughtfully review every application and invite forward the candidates whose experience and potential best align with the role and our mission.

• Hiring manager interview with the Director, Technical Product Management and Engineering
• Technical interview with a Senior Software Engineer and Manager, Software Engineering

Work Location

This is a full-time, in-office position requiring five days per week in our Salt Lake City, Utah office, designed to foster the collaboration and connection that fuel our best work.

• Full-time position.
• Based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Five days per week in the office.
• Collaborative, in-person engineering environment.

WGU will consider qualified candidates who require current or future employment visa sponsorship for this role.

Travel Requirement

This position requires occasional travel of up to 20%, including required attendance at designated company summits (typically one to two per year). Additional travel may include conferences, visits to company locations, and other business-related events as needed. Additional travel may be assigned as needed to support business requirements.

• Attend designated company summits, typically one to two per year.
• Travel to conferences and other business-related events as needed.

Complete additional travel when assigned to support business requirements.

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Position & Application Details

Full-Time Regular Positions (classified as regular and working 40 standard weekly hours): This is a full-time, regular position (classified for 40 standard weekly hours) that is eligible for bonuses; medical, dental, vision, telehealth and mental healthcare; health savings account and flexible spending account; basic and voluntary life insurance; disability coverage; accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity supplemental coverages; legal and identity theft coverage; retirement savings plan; wellbeing program; discounted WGU tuition; and flexible paid time off for rest and relaxation with no need for accrual, flexible paid sick time with no need for accrual, 11 paid holidays, and other paid leaves, including up to 12 weeks of parental leave.

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It’s not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.