Director, Automation Engineering

Role overview

Lead the enterprise-wide capability for workflow automation, internal tooling, business alerting, and low-code/no-code enablement at a remote-first education technology organization. This hands-on director-level role blends deep technical building with strategic leadership: setting the roadmap, establishing governance and standards, applying AI where it adds value, and partnering across business systems, data, technology, revenue operations, customer success, support, product, and finance. The mission is to turn ambiguous operational pain points into durable, well-engineered automation that scales safely across the company.

Responsibilities

- Define and execute the enterprise roadmap for automation, internal tools, business alerting, and citizen-development enablement, integrating AI where it delivers measurable value. - Design and build workflow automations, integrations, dashboards, and internal tools that connect with systems such as Salesforce, Azure DevOps/Jira, data platforms, and other enterprise applications. - Establish standards for development, QA, release management, monitoring, documentation, and governance, including responsible-AI practices, and embed them organization-wide. - Partner with business systems, technology, security, and legal stakeholders to ensure solutions meet privacy, security, and data integrity expectations. - Build enablement playbooks, office hours, and mentorship routines that help functional teams and citizen developers contribute safely and confidently. - Convert successful prototypes and proofs of concept into durable, supported production capabilities, and communicate progress, impact, risk, and trade-offs to executive leadership.

Requirements

- 8+ years of experience in automation engineering, software engineering, business systems, internal tools, data engineering, or related technology leadership roles. - Proven track record leading complex workstreams that delivered workflow automation, internal tools, integrations, and low-code/no-code solutions. - Strong technical foundation in APIs, data flows, ETL and integration patterns, scripting, cloud or SaaS ecosystems, and modern software delivery practices. - Hands-on experience applying AI to automation, including AI-assisted workflow design, evaluation, and responsible adoption. - Familiarity with Salesforce, Azure DevOps/Jira, BI and reporting tools, knowledge systems, support tooling, and broader enterprise application ecosystems. - Product-oriented mindset, executive-level communication skills, and a bias for action balanced with sound judgment on risk, privacy, security, and long-term maintainability.

Nice to have

- Experience coaching engineering teams and scaling automation programs across multiple business units. - Background in change management or enablement programs that grew internal adoption of automation tooling.

Benefits and work setup

- Remote-first organization. - Pay range of $170,000–$185,000 USD, with final compensation individualized based on experience and skills. - Medical, dental, and vision insurance with multiple plan options. - 401(k) retirement plan with company matching. - Paid time off, volunteer time off, and a winter office closure at the end of December. - Wellness resources to support professional and personal well-being.