Senior Software Engineer

About the Role: 

Guitar Center’s Merchandising Technology group is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to design, build, test, and support software systems that power core merchandising and inventory capabilities. In this role, you will combine deep software engineering expertise with strong technical leadership to deliver scalable, reliable solutions, guide design decisions, and help ensure the technical stability of a high-impact engineering team 

Key Responsibilities

Solution Design and Technical Leadership 

• Understand complex business requirements and define effective technology solutions. 
• Collaborate with business and technology partners to evaluate options and analyze tradeoffs. 
• Recommend complex technical designs that align to enterprise standards and support long-term maintainability. 
• Develop best-effort estimates and contribute technical input for project planning. 
• Lead the creation and documentation of clear, complete technical designs for successful execution. 

Application Development and Delivery: 

• Lead complex application development and production support efforts for merchandising technology solutions. 
• Write application code, develop automated tests, document designs, and troubleshoot systems and applications. 
• Implement applications and modules using standard programming tools, patterns, and techniques. 
• Coordinate development environment configuration, release planning, and deployment readiness. 
• Coordinate with application support teams to ensure smooth releases for complex implementations with cross-team dependencies. 

Architecture, Quality, and Operations: 

• Create system architectures, manage source code, and support technical stability for the team’s software solutions. 

• Support quality engineering efforts through unit testing and contributions to broader test case development. 

• Analyze and troubleshoot complex software defects, determine root causes, and implement robust code fixes. 

• Create and maintain system design documentation in accordance with engineering standards. 

• Establish and promote a high bar for design quality, code quality, and continuous improvement. 

• Team Collaboration and Leadership 

• Define and assign tasks, coordinate team activities, and review deliverables. 

• Communicate work status clearly to stakeholders, escalate risks, and propose practical solutions. 

• Provide leadership that advances team practices and strengthens overall engineering capability. 

• Identify opportunities to improve development practices, team processes, and delivery effectiveness. 

• Collaborate closely with team members and mentor less experienced developers. 

Professional Experience & Requirements 

• Required Skills: 

• 7 years of progressive professional experience on software engineering teams building enterprise software systems. 

• Excellent proficiency in object-oriented programming languages such as Java or C#. 

• Experience designing and developing REST-based and event-based microservices; Spring Boot and Apache Kafka experience is a plus. 

• Experience with cloud technologies, including AWS, Kubernetes, and Docker. 

• Expertise with CI/CD pipelines and test automation. 

• Strong understanding of computer science fundamentals such as algorithms, state machines, and programming paradigms. 

• Expertise in software engineering methods and practices such as Scrum, Extreme Programming, and Test-Driven Development. 

• Experience creating technical designs, system architectures, and production-ready software solutions. 

• Ability to analyze complex production issues, troubleshoot effectively, and implement durable solutions. 

• Strong written and verbal communication skills with business partners, stakeholders, and cross-functional technical teams. 

• Preferred Skills: 

• Experience with Domain-Driven Design. 

• Retail or ecommerce domain experience, especially in merchandising planning, inventory allocation, or inventory management. 

• Previous experience working with merchandising platforms such as Blue Yonder or Anaplan. 

• Demonstrated technical leadership within a software engineering team. 

• Education: 

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree in an engineering discipline, preferably Computer Science, or equivalent experience. 

How We Work:

• Collaboration: We work in a highly collaborative environment that values multiple perspectives and recognizes that success takes teamwork. 

• Innovation: We encourage our teams to think creatively and deliver innovative solutions that effectively support business operations and provide competitive advantage. 

• Tactical/Strategic Balance: We balance short-term delivery with long-term technology direction to support sustainable business outcomes. 

• Continuous Learning: We continuously enhance our capabilities and capacity to deliver meaningful results. 

• Customer Focus: We build solutions that best support customer and business needs. 
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Compensation: 

• Pay range: $151,266–$193,788/year, dependent on experience and background. This role is not eligible for the Guitar Center Company bonus program. Actual pay may vary based on education, experience, and other factors. Pay ranges are listed in compliance with state-specific laws and may differ by location 

Why Join Guitar Center Company? 

For our employees who are musicians we offer the unique opportunity of gig leave, take time off to share your music with the world and return to your job after your tour! Guitar Center offers robust benefits and perks, including Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K plus company match, mental health support, paid sick/holiday/vacation time, employee discount program, and tuition reimbursement options.   

Inclusive workplace: We are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to diversity and fair hiring practices. If you need accommodation to apply due to disability, please email recruiting@guitarcenter.com.