What are the responsibilities and job description for the Lead Software Engineer position at RW Thrive?
Join Our Team at RW Thrive!
Are you passionate about designing and delivering innovative software solutions that power real-world learning experiences? RW Thrive—a growing, employee-owned company—is seeking a Lead Software Engineer to drive the architecture, development, and evolution of our digital product platforms. This role will provide hands-on technical leadership across embedded, mobile, desktop, and web applications while partnering with engineering, product, and business teams to build scalable, high-quality systems that support product innovation and long-term growth.
Who We Are
RW Thrive is the parent organization of two impactful educational companies: Realityworks, known for experiential learning tools used in classrooms worldwide, and CreXo, a leader in creative robotics education. While RW Thrive may be new to your radar, our brands are well-established in education and innovation. Together, we are committed to equipping learners and educators with the tools they need to thrive in today’s world.
Why Join Us?
- Employee-owned company with a collaborative culture
- Mission-driven work supporting educators and learners
- Opportunity to shape the future of technology in education
- Competitive salary and benefits package
- Hybrid work flexibility
The Opportunity: Lead Software Engineer
- The Lead Software Engineer will provide technical leadership in designing and delivering innovative digital solutions that power our hands-on learning products. This role will lead the architecture, development, and modernization of embedded, mobile, desktop, and web applications, including integration across our Realityworks and CreXo platforms. As a hands-on leader, you will partner with cross-functional teams to bring new products to market, solve complex technical challenges, and ensure scalable, high-quality systems across the full product lifecycle.
Key Responsibilities
- Provides technical leadership for software development across embedded, desktop, mobile, and web applications
- Collaborates with R&D, Product, DevOps, and other stakeholders to translate requirements into scalable digital solutions
- Defines software architecture and design for complex development initiatives
- Coordinates development efforts across internal teams and external partners, ensuring alignment with timelines and standards
- Guides engineers through design decisions, troubleshooting, and implementation challenges
- Writes and maintains production-quality code and contributes directly to development efforts
- Leads resolution of complex technical issues including performance, security, and system reliability
- Participates in user testing and leverages feedback to drive product improvements
- Ensures adherence to SDLC processes including version control, code review, and release management
- Ensures software solutions meet regulatory and compliance requirements
- Documents system architecture, specifications, and development processes
- Maintains awareness of emerging technologies and supports continuous improvement
- Mentors and supports software engineers and cross-functional teams
What You’ll Bring
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Embedded Systems Engineering, or related technical discipline; or equivalent combination of education and directly-related experience
- 10 years of professional software development experience across embedded, desktop, or mobile platforms
- Demonstrated experience leading architecture or development of complex software systems
- Proficiency in modern programming languages such as C/C , C#/.NET, Java/Kotlin, or Swift/Objective-C
- Experience with version control, code reviews, and automated build and release processes
- Experience developing software that interfaces with hardware or external systems
Desired Qualifications
- Experience developing hardware-integrated or embedded systems
- Experience across multiple application platforms (desktop, mobile, web)
- Proficiency with Python for tooling, automation, or data analysis
- Experience with APIs, service-oriented architectures, or shared-code strategies
- Experience mentoring engineers and influencing technical direction
- Experience working with distributed teams or external partners
- Familiarity with AI-assisted development tools
Work Location
- RW Thrive is headquartered in Eau Claire, WI. This is a hybrid position, splitting time between working from a home office and working onsite in Eau Claire, as needed.
Travel Requirements
- Occasional (<10%) travel may be required to support business needs
Learn More
- Discover more about our mission and impact at www.rwthrive.com
RW Thrive is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.