Senior Lead, Software Engineering

Senior Lead Software Engineering – Professional Assessments

Description: The Senior Lead Software Engineering for Professional Assessments is a business-unit embedded engineering leader with full operational responsibility for the stability, reliability, and effectiveness of mission-critical exam delivery platforms and services.

Reporting Line: Reports to the CTO of Professional Assessments

About Pearson

Pearson is the world’s leading learning company, helping people realize the life they imagine through learning. Across our Enterprise portfolio, we partner with organizations globally to solve critical workforce, skills, and talent challenges through data, assessments, credentials, and technology-enabled solutions.

The Opportunity

We are seeking an experienced Senior Lead Software Engineering leader to take single-point accountability for day-to-day operational delivery across Professional Assessments software engineering and platform performance.

This role supports physical test centres and online proctoring environments where system performance directly impacts candidate outcomes, client trust, and regulatory compliance.

As an L40 Functional Lead, this leader will execute day-to-day operations, ensure alignment with broader business strategies, and develop talent within the function with a strong emphasis on operational excellence.

What You’ll Do

Operational Accountability for Platform Reliability

• Own end-to-end operational performance of Professional Assessments exam delivery platforms, online proctoring services, and test center technologies, including availability, performance, and resilience
• Serve as the single accountable engineering leader for platform stability, reliability, and effectiveness, balancing delivery priorities with operational health
• Lead functional incident management, including risk anticipation, rapid resolution within agreed service windows, and clear executive communication
• Ensure assigned technology services meet uptime targets and documented SLA/SLO expectations, driving measurable reduction in avoidable incidents quarter over quarter

Engineering Delivery Leadership

• Lead the engineering function to deliver outcomes through disciplined planning, predictable execution, and strong delivery management across teams and squads
• Ensure software solutions are designed, developed, tested, and maintained to meet both product needs and operational requirements
• Translate complex business requirements into scalable technical approaches aligned with company technical and functional architecture
• Establish release readiness and operational gating practices, including change risk assessment, rollback readiness, and monitoring coverage

Cross-Functional Partnership & Integration

• Collaborate with Product, Architecture, QA, Operations, and enterprise technology teams to ensure seamless integration across platforms and services
• Partner with stakeholders to align priorities and deliver value through continuous improvement
• Drive tactical service enhancements that improve reliability, reduce friction for users, and support strategic objectives

Vendor & Service Governance

• Engage with and manage external vendors to maintain operational performance and cost efficiency, with clear expectations, performance management, and escalation paths
• Maintain current, audit-ready service documentation, including runbooks, incident playbooks, service maps, and operational metrics definitions
• Manage operational risk related to system downtime, data accuracy, security, privacy, and regulatory compliance

People Leadership & Talent Development

• Develop and mentor talent within the engineering function, fostering accountability and operational excellence
• Build an environment that supports learning, growth, and strong execution
• Lead with clear standards for ownership, service quality, and delivery discipline

What You Bring

• 10+ years of experience in software engineering and/or technology operations roles with accountability for business-critical platforms
• Demonstrated experience owning operational outcomes for mission-critical services, including availability, incident response, risk management, and service governance
• Proven ability to lead a function and deliver outcomes through teams with strong operational rigor
• Strong background in incident management, risk management, service governance, SDLC quality, and release risk
• Proven ability to partner with business leaders and technical teams in a matrixed environment
• Experience in assessment, testing, education technology, or another regulated or high-risk environment is preferred
• Experience supporting platforms with external clients, SLA commitments, vendor management, and contract negotiation is preferred

Measures of Success

• Success in this role will be measured by sustained operational health, improved platform reliability, clear stakeholder communication, reduced avoidable incidents, audit-ready documentation, positive user feedback, and demonstrated improvements in operational efficiency and cost effectiveness.
• Assigned platforms meet or exceed operational uptime and SLA commitments
• Incidents are anticipated and resolved with minimal business disruption, with effective post-incident learnings embedded
• Avoidable incidents reduce quarter over quarter, with improved release quality and stability trends
• Service documentation remains audit-ready and supports compliance requirements
• Stakeholder and user feedback reflects improved experience and reduced friction

Pearson Values in Action

• Live Our Purpose: Advocate for engineering solutions that address foundational learning and business challenges
• Carry Our Culture: Demonstrate integrity, transparency, and open communication during incident management and daily operations
• Simplify the Complexity: Break down complex technical issues into clear, actionable steps that enable smoother operations
• Deliver Results: Consistently achieve operational targets and drive measurable improvements in service quality

Your Benefits

Compensation at Pearson is influenced by factors including skill set, experience, and location

The full-time base salary range for this role is $250-$275k

This position is eligible to participate in an annual incentive plan, and information on benefits offered is here. 

Applications will be accepted through 24th July. This window may be extended depending on business needs.

Apply today and imagine the impact you can make

Who we are:

At Pearson, our purpose is simple: to help people realize the life they imagine through learning. We believe that every learning opportunity is a chance for a personal breakthrough. We are the world's lifelong learning company. For us, learning isn't just what we do. It's who we are. To learn more: We are Pearson.

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity Employer and a member of E-Verify. Employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit and business need. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, ethnicity, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other group protected by law. We actively seek qualified candidates who are protected veterans and individuals with disabilities as defined under VEVRAA and Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act.

If you are an individual with a disability and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our career site as a result of your disability, you may request reasonable accommodations by emailing [email protected].

Job: Engineering

Job Family: TECHNOLOGY

Organization: Assessment & Qualifications

Schedule: FULL_TIME

Workplace Type: Remote

Req ID: 25020

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