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Director Software Development Jobs in Washington

Capital One

Director, Software Engineer

Mclean, VA · On-site

$255K/yr

Director, Software Engineer As a Capital One Director of Software Engineering, you'll work on ... Mentor and guide the professional and technical development of engineers on your team. * Work with ...

Socket.dev

Director, Software Engineering

Mclean, VA · On-site

$269.10 - $307.20/hr

**As a Capital One Director of Software Engineering, you'll work on cutting edge AI based ... Mentor and guide the professional and technical development of engineers on your team. * Work with ...

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Hobbsnews

Director, Software Engineer

Mclean, VA · On-site

$269.10 - $307.20/hr

Overview Director of Software Engineering at Capital One. You\'ll work on a range of systems from ... Mentor and guide the professional and technical development of engineers on your team * Work with ...

MasterCard

Director, Software Engineering

Arlington, VA · Hybrid

$291K/yr

Title and Summary Director, Software Engineering Director, Software Engineering Mastercard's Business Experimentation & Optimization (BEO) program is seeking a Director, Software Engineering to lead ...

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All JobsSoftware Development JobsDirector Software Development JobsDirector Software Development Jobs in Washington

Director Software Development information

See Washington salary details

$118.4K

$201.6K

$273K

How much do director software development jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 30, 2026, the average yearly pay for director software development in Washington is $201,578.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $173,300.00 and $233,900.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a Director of Software Development do?

A Director of Software Development leads and manages software engineering teams to deliver high-quality software products and solutions. They are responsible for setting technical direction, establishing development processes, and aligning projects with business goals. This role involves overseeing project timelines, mentoring engineering managers, collaborating with cross-functional stakeholders, and ensuring teams have the resources needed for success. The Director also plays a key role in recruiting talent, evaluating team performance, and implementing best practices to drive innovation and efficiency.

What is the difference between Director Software Development vs Software Engineering Manager?

AspectDirector Software DevelopmentSoftware Engineering Manager
ResponsibilitiesOversees multiple teams, strategic planning, and long-term goalsManages day-to-day team operations, project delivery, and technical guidance
FocusHigh-level leadership, cross-team coordination, and business alignmentTeam management, technical mentorship, and project execution
Required CredentialsBachelor’s or Master’s in CS or related, extensive experience, leadership skillsBachelor’s or Master’s in CS or related, strong technical background, leadership experience

The main difference is that the Director Software Development focuses on strategic leadership and overseeing multiple teams, while the Software Engineering Manager concentrates on managing individual teams and project execution. Both roles require technical expertise and leadership skills, but the director role involves broader organizational responsibilities.

How does a Director of Software Development typically balance technical leadership with people management responsibilities?

As a Director of Software Development, you are expected to provide both technical direction and effective team leadership. This often means splitting your time between high-level architecture decisions, code reviews, and staying updated on emerging technologies, while also focusing on coaching managers, developing talent, and fostering a collaborative team environment. Balancing these areas requires strong delegation skills, setting clear goals and expectations, and maintaining open communication channels. Many directors find success by empowering technical leads to own day-to-day technical decisions, allowing them to focus on strategic planning, cross-functional alignment, and organizational growth.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Director of Software Development, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Director of Software Development, you need extensive experience in software engineering, leadership, project management, and a relevant technical degree. Familiarity with development frameworks, cloud platforms, Agile methodologies, and certifications like PMP or Scrum Master are highly valuable. Strong communication, strategic thinking, and team-building skills help drive cross-functional alignment and motivate high-performing teams. These skills are essential for delivering successful software products, managing complex projects, and fostering innovation within the organization.
What are the most commonly searched types of Software Development jobs in Washington? The most popular types of Software Development jobs in Washington are:
What cities in Washington are hiring for Director Software Development jobs? Cities in Washington with the most Director Software Development job openings:
What are popular job titles related to Director Software Development jobs in WA? For Director Software Development jobs in WA, the most frequently searched job titles are:
Director Software Development jobs near you
Infographic showing various Director Software Development job openings in Washington as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 1% As Needed, 80% Full Time, 17% Part Time, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 89% Physical, 5% Hybrid, and 6% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $201,578 per year, or $96.9 per hour.

Director, Software Engineering (Network Platform Development)

Socket.dev

Mclean, VA • On-site

$269.10 - $307.20/hr

Other

Posted 4 days ago

Job description

Posted Date

6/30/2026

Description

Director, Software Engineering (Network Platform Development)

As a Capital One Director of Software Engineering, you'll work on everything from customer-facing web and mobile applications using cutting-edge open source frameworks, to highly-available RESTful microservices, to back-end Java based systems and Machine learning models using the hottest techniques in Big Data. You'll bring solid experience in emerging and traditional technologies such as: node.js, Java, GO, AngularJS, React, Python, REST, JSON, XML, Ruby, Perl, NoSQL databases, relational databases, Spark, Artifactory, Maven, iOS, Android, and AWS/Cloud Infrastructure to name a few.

The Director, Software Engineering (Network Platform Development) will be responsible for Capital One network design and transformation, fundamentally shifting the Network infrastructure towards a proactive, Intent Based Network architecture framework, built on Infrastructure-as-Code principles. This leader will focus on accelerating automation, AI integration, innovation-first engineering discipline and engineering practice maturity.

The Director will be responsible for building and scaling a specialized team focused on automating a complex technology landscape, standardizing engineering configurations, and consolidating overlapping vendor functions. By embedding built-in governance, maximizing technological efficiency, and integrating agentic AI technologies, this leader will drive continuous optimization—systematically upskilling the team toward advanced automation capabilities. This is a high-impact position for a transformative leader ready to own the network transformation engineering initiative and replace manual operational processes with cutting-edge network development and intelligent automation.

You will:

  • Lead, manage and grow multiple teams of product focused software engineers
  • Mentor and guide the professional and technical development of engineers on your team.
  • Work with product managers to understand desired application capabilities and testing scenarios
  • Continuously improve software engineering practices
  • Work within and across Agile teams to select, design, develop, test, implement, and support technical solutions across a full-stack development tools and technologies
  • Lead the craftsmanship, availability, resilience, and scalability of your solutions
  • Bring a passion to stay on top of tech trends, experiment with and learn new technologies, participate in internal & external technology communities, and mentor other members of the engineering community
  • Encourage innovation, implementation of cutting-edge technologies, inclusion, outside-of-the-box thinking, teamwork, self-organization, and diversity
  • Work across to improve the velocity of your and other teams
  • Lead efforts to deploy new and existing applications into AWS environments
  • Break existing monolithic applications into micro service architectures and build new microservices

Basic Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s Degree
  • At least 7 years’ experience in software development
  • At least 7 years’ experience in network engineering and architecture
  • At least 7 years’ experience in advanced networking concepts in routing, switching and wi-fi
  • At least 5 years’ experience in people management

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Master’s Degree in Computer Science or a Master’s Degree in Software Engineering
  • 10+ years’ of experience in software development
  • 10+ years’ of experience in advanced networking concepts in routing, switching and wi-fi
  • 8+ years’ of experience in cloud and software-defined networking
  • 5+ years’ of experience in Agile practices

*Capital One will consider sponsoring a new qualified applicant for employment authorization for this position.*

The minimum and maximum full-time annual salaries for this role are listed below, by location. Please note that this salary information is solely for candidates hired to perform work within one of these locations, and refers to the amount Capital One is willing to pay at the time of this posting. Salaries for part-time roles will be prorated based upon the agreed upon number of hours to be regularly worked.

McLean, VA: $269,100 - $307,200 for Director, Software Engineering
Plano, TX: $244,700 - $279,200 for Director, Software Engineering
Richmond, VA: $244,700 - $279,200 for Director, Software Engineering

Candidates hired to work in other locations will be subject to the pay range associated with that location, and the actual annualized salary amount offered to any candidate at the time of hire will be reflected solely in the candidate’s offer letter.

This role is also eligible to earn performance based incentive compensation, which may include cash bonus(es) and/or long term incentives (LTI). Incentives could be discretionary or non discretionary depending on the plan.

Capital One offers a comprehensive, competitive, and inclusive set of health, financial and other benefits that support your total well-being. Learn more at the Capital One Careers website. Eligibility varies based on full or part-time status, exempt or non-exempt status, and management level.

Salary

269,100.00 - 307,200.00 Annual

Type

Full-time

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