Associate Software Engineer

If you’re passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country—and you’re committed to working hard to play your part in building that future—consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Grade:
Technical 403

Pay Range: $72,000.00 - $Job Description At Western Governors University (WGU), technology plays a critical role in advancing our mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable education. Our engineering teams build the platforms, services, and tools that support millions of student interactions and empower employees across the university.

We are looking for a Software Engineer II who is passionate about backend development and eager to grow their technical expertise while contributing to meaningful products that improve the student experience.

As a Software Engineer II, you will help build scalable backend services and APIs that power modern web and mobile applications across WGU's digital ecosystem. This role is ideal for an engineer with a strong foundation in software development who is ready to deepen their experience working on production systems alongside experienced engineers and technical leaders.

You will primarily focus on backend development using Java and Python while collaborating closely with engineers working in Angular and Flutter. You'll gain hands-on experience designing APIs, integrating systems, working with cloud-native technologies, and building reliable software solutions that support learners and employees.

What You'll DoDevelop, enhance, and maintain backend services and APIs using Java and Python Build and support RESTful APIs and backend integrations across multiple platforms

Collaborate with frontend and mobile engineers to deliver end-to-end application features

Write clean, maintainable, secure, and testable code Troubleshoot issues, debug applications, and contribute to performance improvements

Participate in code reviews and technical discussions to improve engineering quality

Support CI/CD pipelines, deployments, and operational excellence initiatives

Learn and apply cloud-native development principles and backend engineering best practices

Contribute to Agile ceremonies, sprint planning, and team collaboration activities

Continuously improve technical skills while contributing to team goals and product outcomes

Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience

Professional experience developing software applications or backend services

Experience with Java or Python development

Understanding of backend application architecture and REST API design principles

Familiarity with relational or No

SQL databases such as Postgre

SQL, MySQL, or Mongo

DB Experience using Git and modern version control workflows

Basic understanding of cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills

Demonstrated ability to learn new technologies and contribute within a collaborative engineering environment

Preferred Qualifications Experience developing backend applications using Spring…