Software Engineer Lead, Member Experience Intelligence and Observability

Company: USAA
Location: San Antonio
Posted on: December 1, 2025

Job Description:

Why USAA? At USAA, our mission is to empower our members to achieve financial security through highly competitive products, exceptional service and trusted advice. We seek to be the 1 choice for the military community and their families. Embrace a fulfilling career at USAA, where our core values – honesty, integrity, loyalty and service – define how we treat each other and our members. Be part of what truly makes us special and impactful. The Opportunity The Software Engineer Lead will provide crucial technical direction and operational oversight, guiding the team through the development lifecycle. This individual will be an expert in Java programming and possess deep knowledge of observability tools and practices. A proven track record of implementing and utilizing solutions such as Datadog, ElasticSearch, Prometheus, and Grafana is essential for success in this role. The ideal candidate will be adept at instrumenting applications, collecting and analyzing telemetry data, and translating these insights into actionable improvements. Prior experience building event driven applications is preferred. This role will be responsible for designing and developing enterprise-scale distributed systems, services, and APIs working in an Agile work environment. They will be expected to implement object-oriented design principles and follow design patterns. This role is responsible for building, mentoring, and managing the team, fostering a culture of accountability, innovation, and collaboration while ensuring clear roles and shared goals. Collaboration with cross-functional partners, including architecture, engineering, product, and data analytics, will be essential for success. We offer a flexible work environment that requires an individual to be in the office 4 days per week. This position can be based in one of the following locations: San Antonio, TX, Plano, TX, Phoenix, AZ, Colorado Springs, CO, Charlotte, NC. Relocation assistance is not available for this position. What you'll do: Design, develop, code, and test complex tactical as well as strategic cross functional technical solutions, often collaborating with Engineers or Architects outside of team/department. Leads the team in in-depth code/design reviews and communicates updates and impacts to stakeholders to ensure smooth daily operations and accurate planning for multiple teams. Organize work and lead multiple teams to deliver features and solutions. Independently resolves complex production issues and leads troubleshooting of end-to-end solutions that span multiple applications and systems. Mentor and coach junior / experienced engineers, including coaching of design principles for their teams and others Work with architecture to help define directions for cross functional or highly complex key and emerging technologies within a specific domain. May begin advancing professional development through active participation in industry organizations, writing programming publications, pursuing educational opportunities, establishing personal networks, and participating in professional societies. Leverages Site Reliability Engineering practices in their domain. Ensures risks associated with business activities are effectively identified, measured, monitored, and controlled in accordance with risk and compliance policies and procedures. What you have: Bachelor’s Degree or 4 additional years of experience beyond the minimum requirement can be used in lieu of a degree. 8 years of software development experience demonstrating depth of technical understanding within a specific discipline(s)/technology(s) to include 2 years demonstrated leadership driving enterprise technology projects or initiatives. 6 years of experience delivering technology solutions in all phases of the software systems and application development lifecycle. Highly proficient in software engineering languages and tools; ability to develop on multiple platforms. Knowledge and advanced experience of leading code/design reviews. Demonstrated ability to address complex production issues by troubleshooting applications and systems. Ability to quickly understand applicable business acumen to provide appropriate Engineering solutions. Deep Understanding of one or more of the following: Java, Swift, Objective-C, Cobol, JavaScript, Kotlin, C++, HTML, CSS, SQL, Go, and Python Demonstrated experience working with cloud technologies and tools. What sets you apart: Demonstrated experience both designing solutions and directly contributing to development tasks in Java. Hands-on experience with telemetry concepts and their practical application in software development, including enabling telemetry for applications within observability platforms. Understanding of digital experience monitoring and products such as Adobe Analytics and Google Analytics, including their capabilities. Knowledge of data visualization tools and experience deriving actionable insights from telemetry data Knowledge of AWS services such as EKS, SQS, SNS, AWS Managed Prometheus, and OpenSearch Experience with event-driven architecture, ideally Kafka. Compensation range: The salary range for this position is: $127,310.00 - $243,340.00 . USAA does not provide visa sponsorship for this role. Please do not apply for this role if at any time (now or in the future) you will need immigration support (i.e., H-1B, TN, STEM OPT Training Plans, etc.). Compensation: USAA has an effective process for assessing market data and establishing ranges to ensure we remain competitive. You are paid within the salary range based on your experience and market data of the position. The actual salary for this role may vary by location. Employees may be eligible for pay incentives based on overall corporate and individual performance and at the discretion of the USAA Board of Directors. The above description reflects the details considered necessary to describe the principal functions of the job and should not be construed as a detailed description of all the work requirements that may be performed in the job. Benefits: At USAA our employees enjoy best-in-class benefits to support their physical, financial, and emotional wellness. These benefits include comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans, 401(k), pension, life insurance, parental benefits, adoption assistance, paid time off program with paid holidays plus 16 paid volunteer hours, and various wellness programs. Additionally, our career path planning and continuing education assists employees with their professional goals. For more details on our outstanding benefits, visit our benefits page on USAAjobs.com. Applications for this position are accepted on an ongoing basis, this posting will remain open until the position is filled. Thus, interested candidates are encouraged to apply the same day they view this posting. USAA is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.

Keywords: USAA, San Antonio , Software Engineer Lead, Member Experience Intelligence and Observability, Engineering , San Antonio, Texas