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Director Software Jobs in Michigan (NOW HIRING)

Senior Director, Software Engineering

Ann Arbor, MI ยท Hybrid

$247K/yr

As the Senior Director, Software Engineering, you are the main point of contact for business and content operations leadership working closely with business, product, and content operations managers ...

Director of Software Engineering

Auburn Hills, MI ยท On-site

$239K/yr

We are hiring a Director of Software Engineering to work onsite at Whisker HQ to co-lead our technical evolution. This foundational leadership role partners closely with the VP of Software ...

As the Director of Software Engineering, you will own the development, operational resilience, and modernization of a premier software product line built for public safety agencies. Lives depend on ...

We are looking for a visionary and technically strong Director of Software Engineering to lead our engineering teams in building scalable, secure, and high-performance software solutions. This role ...

This role will be involved with the Software Development Life Cycle methodology and framework, directing software system validation and testing methods, as well as directing software programming ...

This role will be involved with the Software Development Life Cycle methodology and framework, directing software system validation and testing methods, as well as directing software programming ...

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Showing results 1-20

Director Software information

See Michigan salary details

$121.2K

$221.4K

How much do director software jobs pay per year?

As of Jun 12, 2026, the average yearly pay for director software in Michigan is $212,597.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $220,500.00 and $220,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are Director Software roles?

A Director of Software is a senior leadership position responsible for overseeing the software development teams and guiding the strategic direction of software projects within an organization. They manage engineering managers and developers, set technical vision, ensure projects are aligned with business goals, and often collaborate with other departments like product management and operations. The role requires strong technical expertise, leadership skills, and the ability to balance innovation with operational efficiency. Directors of Software are also tasked with recruiting top talent, mentoring team members, and ensuring software quality and security standards are met.

What are some typical challenges a Director of Software faces when leading cross-functional teams?

A Director of Software often encounters challenges such as aligning priorities across engineering, product, and design teams, ensuring clear communication, and managing competing deadlines. Balancing technical debt reduction with new feature development is also a common concern. Successful Directors build strong relationships with stakeholders, foster a culture of collaboration, and implement processes that support transparency and efficient decision-making.

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

To thrive as a Director of Software, you need extensive experience in software development, strong leadership abilities, and a relevant degree in computer science or a related field. Familiarity with technical tools such as project management software (e.g., Jira), cloud platforms, and agile methodologies, as well as certifications like PMP or Scrum Master, is highly beneficial. Exceptional problem-solving, communication, and team management skills set outstanding candidates apart. These competencies are crucial for guiding teams, delivering high-quality products, and aligning software initiatives with organizational goals.

What is the difference between Director Software vs Software Engineer?

AspectDirector SoftwareSoftware Engineer
Required CredentialsBachelor's/Master's in CS or related field, leadership experienceBachelor's or higher in CS or related field, coding skills
Work EnvironmentLeadership, strategic planning, cross-team collaborationHands-on coding, development, debugging
Employer & Industry UsageTech companies, software firms, startupsAlmost universal across tech industries
Common Search & ComparisonOften compared for career progression, responsibilitiesEntry to mid-level roles, technical focus

The main difference between a Director Software and a Software Engineer lies in their responsibilities and experience. Directors focus on strategic planning, team leadership, and project oversight, often requiring leadership credentials. Software Engineers are primarily involved in coding and technical development. While Software Engineers are more hands-on with daily technical tasks, Directors oversee multiple projects and teams, guiding overall software development strategies.

What are the most commonly searched types of Software jobs in Michigan? The most popular types of Software jobs in Michigan are:
What cities in Michigan are hiring for Director Software jobs? Cities in Michigan with the most Director Software job openings:
Infographic showing various Director Software job openings in Michigan as of June 2026, with employment types broken down into 90% Full Time, 6% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 3% Contract. Highlights an 92% Physical, 3% Hybrid, and 5% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $212,597 per year, or $102.2 per hour.

Senior Director, Software Engineering

Clarivate Analytics

Ann Arbor, MI โ€ข Hybrid

$247K/yr

Full-time

Posted 15 days ago


Job description

As the Senior Director, Software Engineering, you are the main point of contact for business and content operations leadership working closely with business, product, and content operations managers across multiple business unit domains. You will be the go-to person and subject matter expert for individual products and specific technologies. Responsible for software delivery of multiple engineering teams typically consisting of 5+ engineers, you will drive the definition, architecture, agreement, and implementation of technology strategy.

About You - experience, education, skills, and accomplishments

  • Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field; or equivalent work experience
  • 10+ years of experience in technology leadership with a proven ability to lead cross-functional teams, drive transformation, and influence stakeholders
  • 10 + years of experience working as a software engineer developing commercial software
  • 10 + years of experience with common programming languages including Java and Python

It would be great if you also had...

  • Master's degree
  • 6+ years of experience working with any of one the RDBMS (MySQL/SQLServer/Oracle/PostgreSQL)
  • 6 + years of experience working with XML, HTML, XSLT, Unicode, DTDs, XML Schema, XQuery, XPath, PDF, TIFF and similar formats
  • 5 + years in leading / managing software engineering teams
  • 3 + years of experience working in Agile Development (Scrum)
  • 3 + years of experience in a SaaS delivery model
  • Experience with current JavaScript frameworks, particularly Angular)
  • Experience in ETL Development tool (Talend or Pentaho)
  • Experience with Big Data technologies (Databricks, Spark, EMR, Hive)
  • Experience building Microservices, SOAP, REST Services (Java/NodeJS)
  • Working experience in AWS Environment
  • Working knowledge of Messaging (AMQ, JMS)
  • Be able to implement and guide teams through test-based development
  • Understanding of ML, NLP, including entity extraction, data mining, sentiment analysis, content summarization and other data science techniques desirable

What will you be doing in this role?

  • Lead technical teams and focal point for development issues across a development-wide program
  • Oversee the designs and may develop prototype/actual code
  • Responsible for reviewing requirements, and the design, implementation, and unit testing for their teams
  • Responsible for communicating accurately the status of ongoing work to stakeholders. Will present status updates to project management and senior leaders
  • Attend project planning sessions with Product Owners, Content Owners and Business Analysts to analyze requirements
  • Ensure teams develop modules using disciplined processes, adhering to industry standards and best practice guidelines
  • Ensure teams carry out unit and other testing, ensuring application meets needs of client and business
  • Provide assistance in researching and adopting new and emerging technologies, evaluating new tools, technologies and platforms to be included in projects
  • Identify ways to improve the operation of own area and to achieve efficiencies and results and assists in process improvement
  • Use AI to improve the software development process. For example UX, Coding and QA areas.
  • Lead and manage teams including supporting career development of teams' members (objective setting, performance management, talent management, etc.)

About the Team

You will be part of the Academic and Government segment supporting ingestion, enrichment, and delivery of content for products such as ProQuest, Web of Science and Incites. We build UI workbenches for Content Operations enrichment as well as work with AI and Data Science team on automation of content processes. Our newest projects use Java Spring boot, Angular, and Postgres DB. We also have teams that support large scale data delivery using Databricks Scala, Hive and AWS EMR. Our primary stakeholders are the application product managers and the content operations managers. We also collaborate with Web of Science Editorial team and Global Content Acquisition as well as other A&G product technology teams. The projects range from small enhancements to multi team feature deliveries. You will be managing 2-4 teams and their size ranges from 4 to 10 engineers. The teams consist of our journal citation reference management team, large scale big data delivery team and our legacy content management system that supports all three business segments.

Hours of Work

  • This is a full-time position, primarily working core business hours in your time zone, with flexibility to adjust to various global time zones as needed.
  • Hybrid position working in the office 2-3 days a week.
  • Must live in commutable distance to our Philly, Alexandria or Ann Arbor offices

At Clarivate, we are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all qualified persons with respect to hiring, compensation, promotion, training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. We comply with applicable laws and regulations governing non-discrimination in all locations.