Technical Operations Engineer Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

Education Technology Services (ETS), a dynamic sub-division of Strategic Education Inc (SEI), is dedicated to revolutionizing the landscape of online education. Our flagship products, Sophia Learning and Workforce Edge, are at the forefront of providing accessible, affordable, and high-quality education solutions. Sophia Learning offers self-paced online general education courses transferable for college credit, while Workforce Edge is a cutting-edge education benefit management platform.
We're seeking a Sr. Manager, Technical Operations to lead a team spanning Compliance, Integration & Support, and DevOps across both Sophia Learning and Workforce Edge. This critical role owns the operational backbone of our products, ensuring we meet rigorous compliance standards (SOC1, SOC2, SOX), maintain reliable data integrations with partners and education providers, and deliver robust infrastructure and CI/CD capabilities. The ideal candidate is a hands-on leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment, brings deep technical operations expertise, and is passionate about building high-performing teams and scalable processes.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:

Compliance (SOC1, SOC2, SOX):

• Support SOC1 and SOC2 compliance activities for Sophia Learning and Workforce Edge, partnering with the Head of Security & Data Privacy.
• Coordinate technical evidence gathering, control documentation, and remediation activities across the technical operations team.
• Support corporate-led SOX compliance efforts by providing technical inputs and ensuring timely responses to audit requests.
• Partner with security, internal audit, and legal teams to identify gaps, manage findings, and drive continuous improvement of the compliance posture.
• Ensure audit readiness through ongoing monitoring, evidence collection, and stakeholder communication.

Integration & Support:

• Oversee data flow pipelines and integrations with partners and education providers, including API development, data exchange processes, and partner onboarding.
• Manage the Integration & Support team to ensure reliable, timely resolution of partner and platform technical issues.
• Collaborate with product, engineering, and partner teams to scope, design, and deliver new integrations that support business growth.
• Establish and maintain SLAs and operational metrics for integration reliability and support responsiveness.
• Drive continuous improvement of integration architecture, documentation, and support workflows.

DevOps:

• Lead the DevOps function across the full spectrum: CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure-as-code, cloud environment management, reliability, monitoring, and incident management.
• Manage and optimize cloud infrastructure across AWS and GCP environments for both Sophia Learning and Workforce Edge.
• Drive adoption of infrastructure-as-code practices, automated deployments, and environment consistency.
• Establish and improve monitoring, alerting, and incident response processes to maximize platform uptime and reliability.
• Collaborate with engineering teams to continuously improve build, test, and deployment pipelines.

Leadership & Management:

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of direct reports including Technical Analysts, DevOps Engineers, and Technical Operations Specialists.
• Foster a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Provide regular updates on project status, risks, and operational health.
• Make sound, timely decisions with a clear understanding of tradeoffs, risk, and technical implications, while maintaining alignment with business goals.
• Communicate effectively across technical operations, engineering, product, and executive leadership, translating complex technical topics into clear language for varied audiences.
• Ensure security and integrity of all information systems and data.

Job Skills:

• Demonstrated ability to manage and prioritize across multiple operational disciplines (compliance, integrations, infrastructure) simultaneously.
• Strong understanding of compliance frameworks and audit processes (SOC1, SOC2, SOX).
• Experience managing data integrations, APIs, and partner-facing technical operations.
• Solid knowledge of DevOps practices including CI/CD, infrastructure-as-code, monitoring, and incident management.
• Proficiency with cloud platforms, specifically AWS and GCP.
• Familiarity with scripting and automation tools
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with attention to detail.
• Experience championing the adoption of AI tools and intelligent automation
• Passion for solving problems in the education sector is a plus.

Work Experience:

• 8+ years of experience in technical operations, DevOps, IT compliance, or a related field required.
• 4+ years of experience managing technical teams required.
• 2+ years of experience with SOC1, SOC2, or SOX compliance processes required.
• 2+ years of hands-on or management experience in GCP, AWS, or cloud environments required.
• Experience managing data integrations or API-based partner ecosystems preferred.

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or a related field required (Master's Degree preferred)

Certificates, licenses and registrations:

• CISA, CISSP, AWS, or GCP certifications preferred but not required.

Other:

• Must be able to travel occasionally should a business need arise. For most roles travel would not be common. Travel may involve plane, car or metro. In accordance with ADA policies, reasonable accommodations regarding travel limitations can be provided. Travel will be more common for roles such as Account Executives (25 - 50%), senior leaders (10 - 20%) or Capella Core Faculty (5 - 10%).
• Ability to work onsite in Corporate or Campus location (in a typical office environment) may be required based on role. If so, this would include being mobile within the office, including movement from floor-to-floor using elevators or stairs.
• If offsite or hybrid role, must have access to work in setting which enables meeting all requirements of the role (including privacy, reliable internet access, phone, ability to video conference, etc.) at a remote location.
• This role may require lifting, however reasonable accommodations will be provided in accordance with our ADA policies.
• Must be able to meet critical thinking and problem solving aspects aligned to job duties, as well as effectively communicating with co-workers.
• Must be able to work more than 40 hours per week when business needs warrant. Accommodations related to schedule may be considered.
• Able to access information using a computer.
• Other essential functions and marginal job functions are subject to modification.

#LI-JD1

SEI offers a comprehensive package of benefits to employees scheduled 30 hours or more per week. In addition to medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans, SEI employees may take advantage of well-being incentives, parental leave, paid time off, certain paid holidays, tax saving accounts (FSA, HSA), 401(k) retirement benefit, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, tuition assistance as well as entertainment and retail discounts. Non-exempt employees are eligible for overtime pay, if applicable.

Careers - Our Benefits, Strategic Education, Inc

SEI is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture where individuals can grow their careers and contribute fully. We strive to attract talent with broad experiences, skills and perspectives. We welcome applications from all. While it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top end of the pay range at SEI, we offer a competitive salary. The actual base pay offered to the successful candidate may vary depending on multiple factors including, but not limited to, job-related knowledge/skills, experience, business needs, geographical location, and internal pay equity. Our Talent Acquisition Team is ready to discuss your interest in joining SEI. The expected salary range for this position is below.

$119,300.00 - $178,900.00 - Salary

If you require reasonable accommodations to complete our application process, please contact our Human Resources Department at Careers@strategiced.com.