Vice President, Engineering - HCM & Pay

At UKG, the work you do matters. The code you ship, the decisions you make, and the care you show a customer all add up to real impact. Today, tens of millions of workers start and end their days with our workforce operating platform. Helping people get paid, grow in their careers, and shape the future of their industries. That's what we do.

We never stop learning. We never stop challenging the norm. We push for better, and we celebrate the wins along the way. Here, you'll get flexibility that's real, benefits you can count on, and a team that succeeds together. Because at UKG, your work matters-and so do you.

About the Role

The Vice President of Software Engineering is a critical executive leadership role within UKG's Product & Technology organization, reporting directly to the Engineering Leader responsible for UKG's HCM and Pay product portfolio.

This leader will play a pivotal role in one of UKG's most significant engineering transformations, modernizing and evolving the platforms that power mission-critical Human Capital Management and Payroll solutions used by millions of employees worldwide.

This is more than a software engineering leadership role, it is an opportunity to lead the modernization of highly scaled enterprise SaaS products while accelerating engineering excellence through AI-enabled software development, cloud-native architectures, modern engineering practices, and world-class execution.

The ideal leadership candidate has successfully built and scaled complex enterprise SaaS platforms, led large engineering organizations through modernization initiatives, and knows how to balance innovation with operational excellence. They bring a passion for developing exceptional engineering talent while driving measurable improvements in developer productivity, quality, speed, and customer outcomes.

Responsibilities:

• Define and execute the engineering strategy for a significant portion of UKG's HCM and Payroll product suite, aligning technology investments with business priorities and long-term product vision.
• Lead large-scale modernization initiatives, transforming complex legacy platforms into secure, scalable, cloud-native SaaS solutions while ensuring operational excellence and uninterrupted customer delivery.
• Drive engineering excellence through modern software development practices, including AI-assisted and agentic engineering, automation, CI/CD, platform engineering, observability, and continuous improvement to accelerate delivery and enhance developer productivity.
• Oversee the delivery of highly available, enterprise-scale products, ensuring predictable execution, exceptional quality, security, reliability, and performance for millions of users worldwide.
• Partner closely with Product Management, Architecture, Security, Customer Success, and executive leadership to shape product strategy, prioritize investments, and deliver innovative solutions that address evolving customer needs.
• Build and lead high-performing global engineering organizations by attracting, developing, and retaining exceptional talent while fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, inclusion, and continuous learning.
• Establish operational rigor through measurable engineering and delivery metrics, balancing speed, quality, customer outcomes, and business impact.
• Engage with strategic customers and executive stakeholders to influence product direction, strengthen partnerships, and ensure engineering investments deliver meaningful customer value.
• About You:
• 15+ years leading enterprise software engineering organizations, including 10+ years leading large global engineering teams.
• Proven experience building and scaling complex enterprise SaaS platforms serving large global customer bases.
• Demonstrated success leading modernization initiatives involving legacy application transformation, cloud-native architecture adoption, and platform evolution.
• Experience delivering highly available, mission-critical systems where reliability, scalability, security, and performance are paramount.
• Strong background driving engineering transformation through modern DevOps, CI/CD, automation, observability, and cloud engineering practices.
• Demonstrated experience improving engineering productivity through AI-assisted development tools, automation, or emerging agentic software engineering capabilities.
• Experience leading organizations through significant organizational growth, technical transformation, and large-scale product delivery.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field; advanced degree preferred.

Leadership Characteristics

We're looking for a transformational engineering leader who:

• Thrives in complex technical environments and enjoys solving difficult engineering challenges.
• Has successfully modernized enterprise platforms while maintaining customer trust and business continuity.
• Knows how to build organizations that consistently deliver high-quality software at scale.
• Leads with transparency, accountability, and an ownership mindset.
• Balances strategic vision with disciplined operational execution.
• Builds strong partnerships across Engineering, Product, Customer Success, and Executive Leadership.
• Inspires teams through authenticity, curiosity, continuous learning, and a passion for developing future engineering leaders.

Company Overview:

UKG is the Workforce Operating Platform that puts workforce understanding to work. With the world's largest collection of workforce insights, and people-first AI, our ability to reveal unseen ways to build trust, amplify productivity, and empower talent, is unmatched. It's this expertise that equips our customers with the intelligence to solve any challenge in any industry - because great organizations know their workforce is their competitive edge. Learn more at ukg.com.

Equal Opportunity Employer

UKG is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, disability, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, genetic information, and other legally protected categories.

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UKG participates in E-Verify. View the E-Verify posters here.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Disability Accommodation in the Application and Interview Process

For individuals with disabilities that need additional assistance at any point in the application and interview process, please email UKGCareers@ukg.com.

The pay range for this position is $233,300 to $335,400. The actual base pay offered may vary depending on skills, experience, job-related knowledge and work location. In addition to base pay, employees may be eligible to participate in a performance-based bonus plan and to receive restricted stock unit awards as part of total compensation. Learn more about UKG's benefits and rewards at https://www.ukg.com/about-us/careers/benefits