Director of Software Development

COMPANY PROFILE:
ELM Resources is a high growth technology organization which provides automated Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and alternative loan data exchanges, updates and loan information through the internet. Established in 1994 with the mission to achieve an open market, ELM is the industry's only mutual benefit corporation. Through its members lenders, guarantors, and loan servicers ELM administers a common, open and universal data exchange network that seamlessly links diverse computing platforms. ELM offers students and schools a single data channel, regardless of which loan provider is serving the customer. ELM is owned by 48 of the highest profile institutions in the student loan industry, with 70 employees in Oakland, CA, and an additional 30 employees throughout the United States.

POSITION SUMMARY:
Reporting directly to the CIO the Director, Software Development will lead the engineering and development of our next generation web-based products. The ideal candidate will have the following experience:
10+ years experience aligning global IT organizations with key business objectives to achieve dramatic bottom-line results. Extensive expertise in leading medium to large-scale project, program and product development initiatives through the software development lifecycle. Hands-on, results-oriented type with extensive software architecture, engineering and development expertise, and a proven track record in developing and maintaining dynamic, highly scalable consumer-facing internet and web based applications. Have vast knowledge of all the layers of application design, including data structures, business logic, and UI; a deep understanding of technology infrastructure and production environments. Interpersonal soft skills necessary to effectively build, direct and motivate a development team and interact directly with our customers and industry partners. Leverage broad business experience, technical knowledge and analytical skills to help meet strategic goals and articulate a future vision. Continuously seek innovative ways to improve operation productivity, through the introduction of new technologies, systems, methods and controls. Strong team builder and coach, skilled at inspiring confidence, leading by example and managing high-performance teams committed to quality. Exceptional ability to introduce technology to attract customers, increase revenue, facilitate growth and reduce costs. Direct feature development, test, integration and support of core agile software products.
SCOPE AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The Director, Software Development will be responsible for leading the engineering team focused on the integration and implementation of enterprise-level software applications. The Director, Software Development functions as the leader of teams responsible for technical design: both in regard to new projects and the migration of legacy applications to current technologies. In addition, The Director, Software Development is responsible for the overall quality of service provided by his team.

The successful candidate must embody the following:
Design Leadership responsibility includes the System requirements and specifications that derive from customer visits and known requirements.Responsible for the management of all software activities necessary to take Design Specifications from Architecture to General Production delivery. Design leadership responsibilities include system architecture definition, system specification, design, workflow diagrams, command and control flow diagrams, cross-functional leadership, subcontract management, vendor relations, debug and validation management, and customer facing roles. Develop schedules, budgets, risk management plans, quality goals, and lead the team and subcontractors to successfully deliver them. Identify and drive improvements in the development process that facilitates quality, customer experience, schedule, and cost improvements. Efficiently manage and develop direct reports. Supervises organizational development, recruiting and career development. Architecting, engineering and developing solutions for new product initiatives, general product enhancements, and custom solutions for individual customers. Thinking strategically and operating tactically to drive and deliver on our technical vision. Assuming responsibility for overall planning, budgeting, staffing, execution, and success of our development projects. Overseeing a team of four in Development, and hiring the additional development resources necessary to fill out the team and deliver on product objectives. Developing the systems, structures, and processes required to effectively manage prioritization, workflow, accountability, quality assurance and on time delivery. Designing, developing and implementing development processes and standards including design and coding standards and code reviews. Designing, developing, managing and implementing global-level projects and solutions that impact our entire customer base. Leading the process of creating technical specs to functional specs. Understanding and keeping abreast of emerging technologies and their application to our business, our customers, and the industry segments we serve. o Managing multiple projects and tasks simultaneously. o Mentoring junior developers and/or programmers in all facets of software development. Establishing, developing, and managing vendor and partner relationships with third party application providers and back office software product vendors. o Interacting with and cooperating cross-functionally with multiple department and teams (design, project management, production, and technical support) as needed to meet project objectives. EXPERIENCE / SKILLS / REQUIREMENTS: The Director, Software Development will have at least eight (8) years experience (3 years as a manager) in commercial software development environment with direct and proven experience in design, development, and deployment of web-based solutions for medium to large implementations. The Director, Software Development should have experience designing application solutions for reliability, scalability, manageability, and business continuity.The final candidate should also have the following experience/skills:o Strong project management skills with a minimum of 3 years of project management experience. Deep development background with a minimum of 5 years of development experience, with a minimum of 3 years in Java development for both web and EJB based applications. Strong experience with different software development methodologies. A high level of comfort working in a rapidly changing, fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment. Minimum of 5 years experience with Java based technologies building web-based solutions including: J2EE, EJB, JUnit, JTest, AJAX, WebSphere, Spring, Hibernate, Web Services, Apache Web Sever Applications, Rational tool suite, System Performance Modeling, UML, SOAP, XML. Strong detail-orientation required. Must be hands-on and have the ability and inclination to go deep into the code base if necessary. Knowledge of client side web technologies including HTML, CSS, XHTML, and client side java scripting. Experience should include unit testing, adhering to code standards, web GUI standards, version control tools, and modularity. Strong oral and written communication skills and business acumen. Must be competent and comfortable arbitrating technical issues and translating technical matters into business benefits. Well-organized and self-directed individual comfortable working independently, as well as in a highly collaborative team environment. Excellent analytic problem-solving, critical-thinking skills. Excellent time management and leadership skills. Highly desired but not required skills and experience with AJAX, Java, Linux/Unix, Open Source, Design, SOA, third party tools, SOAP, UDDI, WSDL, portals. Solid understanding of service oriented architectures, application frameworks and system integration methods. Experience with full lifecycle development projects and Agile methodologies. Familiarity with emerging technologies and software development best practices. Fluency in constructing software use cases. REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES: Demonstrated track record of delivering product development projects to specification, on time. Delivery of at least one commercially successful software appliance. Strong leadership presence and ability to motivate and drive staff to get results. Can-do attitude. Positive and proactive leadership style. Comfortable in dynamic small company, start-up like environment. Experienced in structured product development practices, able to develop and enforce discipline in process. Strong technical competence and breadth to manage development of software to deliver key system components. Experienced in the development of products based on open source operating systems. Experience with design for software update. Excellent communication and presentation skills, internal and customer-facing. Deep development background with a minimum of 5 years of development experience, with a minimum of 3 years in Java development for both web and transactional based applications.
EDUCATION:
BS Computer Engineering, or Masters with 10 years of relevant work experience and 4 years with subcontract and lead responsibility.

US Citizens or Green Card Holders Only Please.
Company will not sponsor visas.
Work location is downtown Oakland, California
Near 12th Street, City Center BART
ELM Resources is an Equal Opportunity EmployerELM ResourcesOakland, CA 94607Web: http://www.elmresources.com