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Director Software Engineer Startup Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Director, Software Engineer

Chicago, IL · On-site

$146K - $150K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Morgan Stanley Services Group Inc. is seeking a Director, Software Engineer in Chicago, IL to build technical tools, connections, and capabilities to support internal business needs. Develop and ...

Director, Software Engineer

Chicago, IL · Hybrid

$146K - $150K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Morgan Stanley Services Group Inc. is seeking a Director, Software Engineer in Chicago, IL to build technical tools, connections, and capabilities to support internal business needs. Develop and ...

Director, Software Engineer

Chicago, IL · On-site

$146K - $150K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Morgan Stanley Services Group Inc. is seeking a Director, Software Engineer in Chicago, IL to build technical tools, connections, and capabilities to support internal business needs. Develop and ...

Director, Software Engineer

Alpharetta, GA · On-site

$130.50 - $159.50/hr

Morgan Stanley Services Group, Inc. is seeking a Director, Software Engineer in Alpharetta, Georgia to solve complex engineering problems within Equities, Options trading, and Stockplan domain.

Director, Software Engineer

Bentonville, AR · On-site

$130K - $260K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Experience managing software development engineers, leaders, architects and leading engineering projects, guiding engineering teams on engineering excellence & solid system design. * Experience ...

Director, Software Engineer

Springdale, AR · On-site

$130K - $260K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Experience managing software development engineers, leaders, architects and leading engineering projects, guiding engineering teams on engineering excellence & solid system design. * Experience ...

Director, Software Engineer

Rogers, AR · On-site

$130K - $260K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Experience managing software development engineers, leaders, architects and leading engineering projects, guiding engineering teams on engineering excellence & solid system design. * Experience ...

Director, Software Engineer

Gravette, AR · On-site

$130K - $260K/yr

  • Medical

  • Dental

  • Vision

  • Life

  • Retirement

  • PTO

Experience managing software development engineers, leaders, architects and leading engineering projects, guiding engineering teams on engineering excellence & solid system design. * Experience ...

Showing results 21-40

Director Software Engineer Startup information

See salary details

$139K

$254K

How much do director software engineer startup jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 18, 2026, the average yearly pay for director software engineer startup in the United States is $243,917.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $253,000.00 and $253,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What does a director software engineer do at a startup?

A Director Software Engineer at a startup leads and manages the engineering team, overseeing the development and delivery of software products. They set technical direction, ensure best practices, and collaborate closely with founders and other departments to align technology with business goals. This role often involves hands-on coding, mentoring junior engineers, and making key architectural decisions. Directors at startups must be adaptable, balancing strategic planning with the fast-paced demands of startup growth.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a director software engineer at a startup?

To thrive as a Director Software Engineer at a startup, you need deep expertise in software architecture, coding best practices, and team leadership, often supported by a degree in computer science and significant engineering experience. Familiarity with agile methodologies, cloud platforms (such as AWS or GCP), and project management tools is typically required, along with experience in scaling systems. Exceptional communication, strategic thinking, and the ability to motivate and mentor a diverse team set standout leaders apart in this role. These skills are vital for driving innovation, ensuring technical excellence, and fostering a high-performing engineering culture in a fast-paced startup environment.

What are some common challenges faced by a director software engineer at a startup, and how can they be addressed?

As a Director Software Engineer at a startup, you may encounter challenges such as balancing hands-on technical work with managerial responsibilities, scaling the engineering team rapidly, and adapting to shifting business priorities. It’s important to establish clear communication channels, set achievable milestones, and foster a collaborative culture to keep the team aligned. Leveraging agile methodologies and regularly reviewing technical debt can help maintain product quality while meeting fast-paced deadlines. Building strong relationships with other departments, such as product and design, also ensures that engineering efforts are strategically aligned with the company’s goals.

What is the difference between Director Software Engineer Startup vs Lead Software Engineer?

AspectDirector Software Engineer StartupLead Software Engineer
ResponsibilitiesOversees multiple teams, strategic planning, and project alignmentLeads a specific team or project, technical mentorship
Required CredentialsBachelor's/Master's in CS or related, extensive experienceBachelor's/Master's in CS or related, strong technical background
Work EnvironmentStartup setting, cross-functional collaborationStartup or tech company, hands-on technical work
FocusStrategic leadership, team managementTechnical excellence, project delivery

The main difference between a Director Software Engineer Startup and a Lead Software Engineer lies in scope and focus. The Director typically manages multiple teams and handles strategic planning, while the Lead focuses on technical leadership within a specific team or project. Both roles require strong technical credentials, but the Director's role emphasizes leadership and organizational skills in a startup environment.

More about Director Software Engineer Startup jobs

What cities are hiring for Director Software Engineer Startup jobs?

Cities with the most Director Software Engineer Startup job openings:

What are the most commonly searched types of Software Engineer Startup jobs?

The most popular types of Software Engineer Startup jobs are:

What states have the most Director Software Engineer Startup jobs?

States with the most job openings for Director Software Engineer Startup jobs include:

Infographic showing various Director Software Engineer Startup job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 100% Full Time. Highlights an 75% In-person, and 25% Hybrid job distribution, with an average salary of $243,917 per year, or $117.3 per hour.

Director, Software Engineer

Morgan Stanley

Alpharetta, GA • On-site, Remote

Full-time

Re-posted 2 days ago


Morgan Stanley rating

8.4

Company rating: 8.4 out of 10

Based on 155 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

31st of 150 rated financial services


Job description

Company Profile:

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment, and wealth management services. The Firm's employees serve clients worldwide, including corporations, governments, and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 43 countries.

In Technology, we leverage innovation to build the connections and capabilities that power our Firm, enabling our clients and colleagues to redefine markets and shape the future of our communities.

What you'll do in the role:

Morgan Stanley Services Group, Inc. is seeking a Director, Software Engineer in Alpharetta, Georgia to integrate Large Language Models (LLMs) into existing applications to enhance user experience. Design, implement, and optimize LLM-based solutions ensuring production-grade quality. Develop APIs and middleware to facilitate seamless communication between LLMs and existing systems. Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product managers, data scientists, and software engineers, to define requirements and deliver solutions. Monitor, analyze, and fine-tune LLM performance using metrics and user feedback. Implement security best practices and data privacy policies for LLM interactions. Stay updated with advancements in AI, NLP, and machine learning to continuously improve integration strategies. Integrate GenAI capabilities into enterprise applications, including designing end-to-end GenAI pipelines and autonomous or semi-autonomous agent workflows. Create structured prompts, templates, and reusable prompt-engineering frameworks for diverse business use cases. Design and implement GenAI agents capable of reasoning, planning, and executing actions across internal APIs, enterprise tools, and third-party services. Develop and maintain tool registries enabling GenAI agents to securely interact with enterprise systems and data sources. Implement metrics, observability, tracing, and structured logging for GenAI workloads. Build rapid Proofs of Concept (POCs) to validate GenAI ideas, measure ROI, and scale successful prototypes into production-ready systems. Participate in Agile ceremonies, including sprint planning, retrospectives, and continuous improvement initiatives. Conduct code reviews, design reviews, and prompt-optimization sessions to maintain engineering quality. Telecommuting permitted up to 2 days per week.

What you'll bring to the role:

-Requires a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field of study.

-Requires five (5) years of experience in the position offered or as a Full Stack Developer, Software Engineer, AI Engineer, or a related role.

-Requires five (5) years of experience with the following skills:

  • Full stack development skills in Python, Java and JavaScript;
  • Working with different tools of Adobe Marketing cloud including Adobe Experience Manager, Target and Campaign;
  • RESTful API development and integration;
  • GraphQL API to serve dynamic request on data;
  • Backend development experience with Node.js and Nest.js;
  • Frontend development experience with Angular and React;
  • DevOps tools and practices for deployment and monitoring;
  • Implementing Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CICD) pipelines using Jenkins, Bamboo, and Docker; and
  • Atlassian's toolset, including JIRA, Confluence, Box, BitBucket, Git repository, SVN, and SourceTree.

Requires two (2) years of experience with the following skills:

  • AWS Lambda;
  • AWS Gateway API;
  • AWS SDK and AWS CDK;
  • LLM APIs including OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, and Hugging Face;
  • Prompt engineering frameworks, GenAI agent frameworks including LangChain, LlamaIndex, and Semantic Kernel;
  • Performing model fine-tuning, embeddings, and secure tool registries;
  • Utilizing observability tools including TruLens, and W&B;
  • OAuth2;
  • SAML authentication;
  • API gateways;
  • Kubernetes Helm;
  • Terraform;
  • Prometheus;
  • Grafana, and enterprise;
  • AI safety and compliance practices.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM MORGAN STANLEY:

At Morgan Stanley, we raise, manage and allocate capital for our clients - helping them reach their goals. We do it in a way that's differentiated - and we've done that for 90 years. Our values - putting clients first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, committing to diversity and inclusion, and giving back - aren't just beliefs, they guide the decisions we make every day to do what's best for our clients, communities and more than 80,000 employees in 1,200 offices across 42 countries. At Morgan Stanley, you'll find an opportunity to work alongside the best and the brightest, in an environment where you are supported and empowered. Our teams are relentless collaborators and creative thinkers, fueled by their diverse backgrounds and experiences. We are proud to support our employees and their families at every point along their work-life journey, offering some of the most attractive and comprehensive employee benefits and perks in the industry. There's also ample opportunity to move about the business for those who show passion and grit in their work.

To learn more about our offices across the globe, please copy and paste https://www.morganstanley.com/about-us/global-offices into your browser.

Expected base pay rates for the role will be between $165,000 and $165,000 per year at the commencement of employment. However, base pay if hired will be determined on an individualized basis and is only part of the total compensation package, which, depending on the position, may also include commission earnings, incentive compensation, discretionary bonuses, other short and long-term incentive packages, and other Morgan Stanley sponsored benefit programs.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a workforce that is diverse in experience and background. Our recruiting efforts reflect our strong commitment to a culture of inclusion, where individuals are hired, developed, and advanced based on their skills and talents.

Our workforce reflects a broad cross-section of the global communities in which we operate, bringing a variety of backgrounds, talents, perspectives, and experiences.

For more information, please visit: https://www.morganstanley.com/people-opportunities/eeo.


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