Engineering Director

Job Description

We have an exciting opportunity for an Engineering Director at UL Research Institutes. This is a remote position.

The Engineering Director for the Digital Safety team will lead a growing team of software and AI engineers and evaluators to modernize the AI/digital testing and evaluation ecosystem – so that the safety of digital services can be assessed at the speed of relevance. The Engineering Director will work closely with independent review organizations and auditors to define DSRI’s research role in helping to modernize the greater AI/digital test and auditing ecosystem.  The Engineering Director works closely with other ULRI directors, leaders, and colleagues across the UL research organizations to advance the mission and growth of the Digital Safety team.

UL Research Institutes:

At UL Research Institutes (ULRI), we expand the boundaries of safety science to create a more secure and sustainable world. For more than a century, we have studied the unintended consequences of innovation, designed solutions to mitigate risk and shared our findings with academia, scientists, manufacturers, and policymakers across industries. We identify critical safety and sustainability issues, asking the tough questions because we believe a safer world begins with knowledge.

Build a safer, more secure, and sustainable future with us. Join us and work with our Digital Safety, Research Institute teams who conduct the research required to produce that knowledge and put into practice.

Digital Safety Research Institute:

The Digital Safety Research Institute (DSRI) addresses unresolved safety risks and emerging dangers in the world’s digital ecosystem. We aim to help protect people from unwanted access to personal devices and privacy, algorithm, and disinformation threats by working to create a new digital safety ecosystem.

DSRI is committed to sharing digital safety insights, collaborating with key stakeholders, and offering extensive outreach and education to help support safer digital environments for people everywhere.

What you’ll learn and achieve:

As the Engineering Director, you will play a key role in the rapid growth of UL as you:

• Lead the software engineering across the Digital Safety Research Institute, focused on creating open-source tools for advanced independent auditing and testing.

• Use advanced independent auditing and testing tools to create experimental assessments of rapidly advancing AI/digital systems.

• In collaboration with the Executive Director of Digital Safety teams, define key performance indicators (KPIs), focused on AI/digital service testing and public risk management, and build in KPI measurements into the engineering process to assess teams’ performance

• Hire, lead, and develop a team of high-performing AI and software engineers to build prototype platforms and tools to test and evaluate AI/digital systems.

• Define and manage ULRI’s Digital Safety teams’ digital infrastructure needs to support research and engineering efforts

• Manage software engineering resources to ensure that minimum viable products and updates with KPIs deliver on-time and within budget.

• Collaborate with ULRI’s Digital Safety leadership in strategic planning and the annual budget processes.

What you’ll experience working at UL Research Institutes:

We have pursued our mission of working for a safer, more secure, and sustainable world for nearly 130 years, embedding conscientious stewardship into everything we do.

• People: Our people make us special. You’ll work with a diverse team of experts respected for their independence and transparency and build a network, because our approach is collaborative. We collaborate across disciplines, organizations, and geographies to build the global scientific response that today’s global challenges require.

• Interesting work: Every day is different for us here. We see what’s on the horizon and use our expertise to build the foundations of a safer future. You’ll have the opportunity to push the boundaries of human understanding as part of a team working to advance the public good.

• Grow and achieve: We learn, work, and grow together through targeted development, reward, and recognition programs.

• Values. Four core values guide our work: collaboration, respect, integrity, and beneficence. By living our values, we inspire the trust essential to fulfilling our mission and foster the partnerships that enable us to pursue a beneficent future in which we all can thrive.

• Total Rewards: All employees at UL Research Institutes are eligible for bonus compensation. We offer comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life insurance plans and a generous 401k matching structure of up to 5% of eligible pay. Moreover, we invest an additional 4% into your retirement saving fund after your first year of continuous employment. Depending on your role, you may be able to discuss flexible working arrangements with your manager. We also provide employees with paid time off, including vacation, holiday, sick, and volunteer days.

What makes you a great fit:

While no one candidate will embody every quality, the successful candidate will bring many of the following professional competencies and personal attributes:

• Expert knowledge in cloud and mobile application development, database management, and application testing automation.

• Practical knowledge of current DevSecOps and MLOps best practices to be applied to the ULRI’s Digital Safety software development and deployment. 

• Problem solving skills with the ability to identify root causes, develop practical solutions, and work in collaboration with colleagues to address roadblocks to success.

• Ability to mentor AI and software engineers to develop skills and knowledge that they need to succeed.

• Leadership skills to create alignment and buy-in with multiple stakeholders and deliver results.

• Positive and collaborative attitude and interpersonal skills to work effectively with staff at any level across the organization.

• High degree of curiosity and a continuously learning mentality.

• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with enthusiasm to engage stakeholders with the mission and goals of the organization.

• Ability to operate at a strategic and operational level, including attention to detail, focus on quality, speed, and outcomes, and willingness to both lead the work and execute. 

Professional education and experience requirements for the role include:

• Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science, or other STEM discipline

• Minimum 10 years of experience with proven software engineering and deployment experience including experience in software testing.

• Experience managing and/or mentoring distributed software engineering teams including open-source developers

• Experience planning, developing, deploying and monitoring production systems and maintaining their operations.

About UL Research Institutes and UL Standards & Engagement

UL Research Institutes and UL Standards & Engagement are nonprofit organizations dedicated to advancing safety science research through the discovery and application of scientific knowledge. We conduct rigorous independent research and analyze safety data, convene experts worldwide to address risks, share knowledge through safety education and public outreach initiatives, and develop standards to guide safe commercialization of evolving technologies. We foster communities of safety, from grassroots initiatives for neighborhoods to summits of world leaders. Our organization employs collaborative and scientific approaches with partners and stakeholders to drive innovation and progress toward improving safety, security, and sustainability, ultimately enhancing societal well-being.

Our affiliate, UL Solutions, stands alongside us in working for a safer and more sustainable world.  UL Solutions conducts testing, verification and certification, and provides training and advisory services, along with data-driven reporting and decision-making tools, for customers around the world.

Learn more about us and the offered benefits, visit our websites at UL.org and ULSE.org.

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