Director of Engineering – Platform Services, Developer Platform

Nordstrom

. Lead teams building, operating, and evolving the Kubernetes Platform, Airflow, Kafka, Temporal, and Machine Learning Platform as reliable, self-service products .

Posted 11/5/2026full-timeSeattle • Washington • United StatesLead💰 $200,500 - $332,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in leading platform engineering and team development, with a strong focus on Kubernetes, Airflow, Kafka, and machine learning platforms. Proven ability to drive architectural decisions, manage large-scale migrations, and foster high-performing teams in dynamic environments.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Kubernetes Platform EngineeringTeam Leadership and DevelopmentPlatform Migration ManagementWorkflow Orchestration (Airflow, Temporal)Event Streaming (Kafka)

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

KubernetesAirflowTemporalKafkaMachine Learning PlatformsPlatform EngineeringDeveloper ToolingInfrastructure ManagementSoftware Development PracticesLifecycle Management

Soft Skills

Customer EmpathyStakeholder EmpathyNegotiating SkillsInfluencing SkillsCoaching Skills

Certifications & Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree in Computer ScienceMaster's Degree Preferred

Industry Keywords

High-Scale EnvironmentsEnterprise Team LeadershipShared PlatformsVendor EvaluationOpen-Source Integration

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AirflowKafkaKubernetes

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead teams building, operating, and evolving the Kubernetes Platform, Airflow, Kafka, Temporal, and Machine Learning Platform as reliable, self-service products
Design organizational structures and talent plans and build a bench of future leaders
Identify, develop, and coach leaders; build high-performing, inclusive teams
Own and be accountable for creating new systems and evolving existing ones while balancing reliability, cost, and delivery speed
Drive architectural decisions across the function and enterprise, including build-vs-buy choices and platform roadmaps
Partner with business and technology leaders to provide technical advice and shape strategy
Gather requirements, map them to implementation, and select appropriate technology
Set product-oriented roadmaps and define and transparently report success metrics
Lead large-scale platform migrations and upgrades with minimal disruption
Champion responsible adoption of AI and automation across engineering workflows

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or a related field (Master's preferred)
10+ years of relevant work experience in technology
5+ years of enterprise team leadership in dynamic, high-scale environments
5+ years leading and developing teams
3+ years managing managers
Experience leading platform engineering, developer tooling, or infrastructure at scale
Working knowledge of Kubernetes and container orchestration
Working knowledge of workflow orchestration (Airflow, Temporal)
Working knowledge of event streaming (Kafka)
Working knowledge of machine learning platforms
Experience running shared platforms as products, including vendor and open-source evaluation, integration, and lifecycle management
Proven record of individual excellence and demonstrated commitment to making others great
Familiarity with modern software development practices
Strong customer and stakeholder empathy
Strong negotiating and influencing skills, with the ability to lead through others

Benefits

Comp & perks

Medical/Vision, Dental, Retirement and Paid Time Away
Life Insurance and Disability
Merchandise Discount and EAP Resources
Performance-based incentives/bonuses
401k
Medical/vision/dental/life/disability insurance options
PTO accruals
Holidays