Sr Director, Software Engineering

The Senior Director of Engineering, Restaurant Tech will be a key leader within McDonald’s Global Technology organization, responsible for driving software engineering excellence across POS and Kiosk platforms that power McDonald’s Restaurant experiences.

You will lead a centralized and matrixed organization of engineering talents internally and externally ensuring consistent delivery of secure, scalable, and high-performing software systems.

This role will define and implement engineering processes, tools, and standards that improve POS and Kiosk platform reliability, data integration, overall development velocity, and adoption of the tech stack across 100 markets. You will help scale our engineering capabilities while fostering a culture of craftsmanship, collaboration, and continuous improvement across all layers of our restaurant stack.

• Lead and scale McDonald’s engineering capabilities across POS and Kiosk applications.
• Provide deep technical and architectural leadership for our POS and Kiosk application engineering team.
• Partner with Product, Architecture, Experience Design, and out Operation Partners to translate business priorities into technical strategies that deliver seamless restaurant experiences for crew and customers.
• Define and enforce engineering excellence standards including architecture principles, code quality, observability, and system resilience.
• Drive adoption of modern technologies, frameworks, and DevSecOps practices to enhance scalability, performance, and reliability of restaurant platforms.
• Lead initiatives that improve PDLC efficiency and deployment models across engineering teams.
• Implement data-driven engineering performance metrics to track velocity, reliability, and quality, ensuring continuous improvement in delivery and operational outcomes.
• Champion a culture of engineering accountability and innovation through mentorship, technical coaching, and career path development.
• Drive the assessment and adoption of AI, GenAI, and Agentic AI tools to accelerate software delivery, automate testing, and enhance developer productivity.
• Partner with peer engineering leaders to ensure platform modernization aligns with global technology standards and architectural vision.
• Serve as the key voice for engineering execution in leadership forums, presenting delivery performance, quality insights, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Manage the product and platform milestone, budget, and associated ROI.

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Tactical experience as a developer working across multiple languages and products.
• 15 years of progressive experience in software engineering, application development, and architecture, with hands-on technical depth across modern technologies and multiple programming languages.
• Proven experience leading large-scale technology transformations in complex, matrixed, global organizations.
• Strong expertise in product development lifecycle, architecture design, and modernization / technology convergence initiatives.
• 5 years of experience leading and scaling large engineering teams (50 ), with a strong focus on coaching, talent development, and building high-performing organizations.
• Demonstrated ability to inspire teams, drive accountability, and align execution to strategic outcomes.
• Experience delivering complex, multi-region deployments with an understanding of global market and segment differences.
• Strong appreciation of restaurant technology (POS, Kiosk, operational systems) and real-world operational constraints in a high-volume environment.
• Ability to communicate effectively across technology and business functions (e.g., operations, finance, marketing), translating technical strategy into business impact.
• Impact-driven mindset with the ability to define clear goals, drive alignment

Nice to Haves:

• Master’s Degree.
• Retail or QSR industry experience.

Bonus Eligible: Yes

Long - Term Incentive: Yes

Benefits Eligible: Yes

The expected salary range for this role is $237,102- $296,377 per year
 
The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we may also consider your experience, and other job-related factors.

katie.perion@us.mcd.com