Head of Agile Office

Summary

Join Natera as the Head of the Agile Office, a Director-level role, where you will architect and build a team supporting engineering excellence. This greenfield opportunity allows you to design and implement a critical new function within the company. As the orchestrator of operational rhythm for the technology organization, you will serve as a trusted thought partner and strategic advisor to the technology leadership team. You will own the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), architect a "Compliant Agile" framework, and ensure compliance with relevant regulations. You will partner with various teams to establish processes and tools, manage engineering projects, and champion a superior Developer Experience. The role also involves managing the Agile Office's resources and fostering a learning culture.

Requirements

• Experience : A minimum of 10 years in technology, including leadership roles. Proven experience building, scaling, and mentoring high-performing, multi-disciplinary teams in engineering operations, program management, or development platforms
• Track Record : A proven track record of having successfully designed, implemented, governed, and defended an SDLC that is both agile and compliant, and has passed formal regulatory audits or inspections
• Agile Expertise : A strong command of enterprise-scale agile methodologies (e.g., SAFe, LeSS, etc.) and demonstrable experience leading agile maturation within a large, complex, and matrixed organization
• Quality : Fluency in modern Software Quality Assurance (SQA) principles, including the test automation pyramid, risk-based testing strategies, and the formal process of software Verification and Validation in a regulated context

Responsibilities

• Own the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) for the entire organization, including defining, documenting, governing, and continuously improving the end-to-end processes for all software developed at the company
• Architect and implement a "Compliant Agile" framework that integrates iterative development with the requirements of a regulated environment
• Ensure the SDLC and agile processes are demonstrably and auditably compliant with all applicable U.S. and international regulations, including FDA 21 CFR Part 11 (Electronic Records; Electronic Signatures), 21 CFR Part 820 (Quality System Regulation), medical device software standard IEC 62304, and ISO 13485
• Partner with the Quality and Regulatory teams to ensure activities like design controls and risk assessments are compliant and incorporated as continuous, in-sprint activities
• Partner with the Program Management Organization to establish processes and tools for high-performance project management
• Manage the portfolio of internal engineering projects
• Establish and champion a superior Developer Experience by systematically identifying and removing sources of friction and process bottlenecks
• Define, measure, and analyze key engineering metrics and lead efforts to improve them systematically
• Partnering with Platform Engineering, optimize the core developer toolchain for speed, reliability, and efficiency, creating a seamless, fully integrated, auditable toolchain that provides complete, real-time traceability
• Manage a suite of engineering tools, including Atlassian, JAMA Connect, TestRail, and ProductBoard, including strategic planning, budget management, vendor relations, and license optimization
• Build out the Agile Office with talent and teams that foster centers of excellence in technical project management, software quality assurance, developer experience, and agile practice
• Manage the Agile Office's career ladders, performance, budget, and headcount
• Organization training, coaching, and internal conferences to foster a learning culture

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience incorporating modern AI tools into engineering productivity workflows
• Prior experience running engineering operations for an organization in a regulated industry such as healthcare, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, or finance. A significant advantage is a working knowledge of compliance frameworks like GxP, SOX, or HIPAA and how they apply to the SDLC

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans for eligible employees and their dependents
• Natera employees and their immediate families receive free testing in addition to fertility care benefits
• Pregnancy and baby bonding leave
• 401k benefits
• Commuter benefits
• A generous employee referral program