Assistant Vice President, Academic Experience Engineering

Assistant Vice President, Academic Experience Engineering
Office of the Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer
Exempt, Regular, Full-Time
University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) seeks an experienced servant leader as our next Assistant Vice President, Academic Experience Engineering (AVP). Reporting to the Vice President, Platform Engineering, this AVP is responsible for leading teams handling the engineering, modernization, escalated support, and continuous improvement of the applications and platforms that enable UMGC’s teaching and learning environment. This role oversees application engineering teams supporting the Learning Management System (LMS), Curriculum and Course Management Systems (CCMS), virtual labs, instructional technology applications, academic content and assessment solutions, faculty-facing tools, as well as related learning platforms and integrations. The AVP collaborates with academic and business leaders, Business Relationship Managers, Enterprise Architecture, Domain and Solution Architects, Data, Integrations, Cybersecurity, Quality Management, Release Enablement, IT Operations, and external partners to deliver secure, accessible, scalable, and reliable solutions that advance instructional effectiveness, learner success, and UMGC’s academic priorities.
Position is hybrid with 2-3 days/week in office. Relocation to the Maryland/DC/Northern Virginia metro area is required.
Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to:
· Teaching & Learning Applications Strategy, Modernization & Domain Alignment. Partner with enterprise and domain architecture to develop and execute applications strategies and investments across multiple technology domains, initiatives, modernization, and lifecycle plans ensuring alignment with architecture standards, business priorities, cybersecurity requirements, and technology direction.
· Learning Platform Engineering, Integration & Solution Delivery. Accountable for high quality, efficient design, development, configuration, integration, testing, implementation, and escalated support of the LMS, curriculum and course management platforms, virtual labs, instructional applications, assessment tools, academic content solutions, and related technologies that support effective teaching and learning experiences; also responsible for the academic experience engineering budget.
· Application Lifecycle Management, Reliability & Service Excellence. Work with architects to provide leadership for teaching and learning application lifecycle planning, platform currency, technical debt reduction, performance optimization, capacity management, Tier 3 issue resolution, service continuity, and continuous improvement to ensure critical academic technologies remain available, reliable, secure, scalable, and supportable.
· Engineering Governance, Quality, Accessibility & Delivery Performance. Partner with domain architects to establish engineering governance and performance measures while collaborating with Quality Management and Release Enablement teams to support effective testing, usability validation, quality assurance, release readiness, and deployment activities.
· Academic Partnership, Technology Enablement & Vendor Management. Partner with Business Relationship Managers, Enterprise Architecture, Architects, PMO, business leaders, Data, Integrations, Cybersecurity, and IT Operations to understand requirements, evaluate solutions, manage vendor relationships, and deliver technology that enables UMGC objectives and digital initiatives.
· Leadership, Workforce Development & Organizational Effectiveness. Lead and develop application engineering managers, solution architects, and engineers through workforce planning, talent development, succession planning, coaching, performance management, and organizational leadership practices that strengthen engineering maturity and delivery effectiveness.
· Technology Policy Advisory. Assist the Information Technology Policy Administrator with UMGC technology policy development and refinement.
· Incident & Problem Management Leadership. Provide leadership for major incident response, escalation management, and operational resilience. Oversee on-call readiness and coverage for critical off-hours support, and drive post-incident reviews, root cause analysis, problem management, and continuous service improvement.
Required education & experience: A demonstrated ability to get things done and deliver results. An earned Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher learning in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, Educational Technology, Business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience; at least 10 years of progressive experience in application engineering, software development, enterprise applications, educational technology, or related disciplines, including seven (7) years leading technical teams; hands-on experience in software engineering, solution architecture, product engineering, enterprise application integration, and cloud-based technology platforms; experience managing and supporting low-code, no-code, open-source, and commercial enterprise platforms; experience supporting mission-critical applications, application modernization, systems integration, and application lifecycle management; proven ability to collaborate with academic and business stakeholders, architects, cybersecurity, operations, and vendor partners while managing budgets and technology investments; as well as demonstrated expertise in SDLC, Agile and DevOps methodologies, engineering governance, vendor management, and cross-functional leadership.
Preferred education & experience: An earned Master's degree from an accredited institution in Information Technology, Computer Science, Information Systems, Software Engineering, Educational Technology, Instructional Technology, Business Administration, Higher Education Administration, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience; progressive leadership experience in application engineering, software development, enterprise applications, academic technology platforms, or related technology organizations, including experience leading managers, engineers, architects, application administrators, and other technical professionals; experience directing the engineering, modernization, integration, architecture, and lifecycle management of learning management systems (LMS), curriculum and course management platforms, virtual labs, assessment solutions, instructional technologies, or comparable enterprise platforms; demonstrated success leading cloud adoption, application modernization, enterprise architecture alignment, digital transformation, accessibility, engineering governance, operational excellence, platform reliability, engineering maturity, and technical debt reduction initiatives in complex, multi-stakeholder environments; experience with enterprise architecture frameworks such as TOGAF, technology roadmaps, solution design, API and integration patterns, application security, performance optimization, and scalability best practices; experience managing strategic technology vendors, contracts, software licensing, and external service providers while ensuring compliance with accessibility, privacy, cybersecurity, and data governance requirements; prior experience supporting higher education, online learning, or similarly complex digital service environments is strongly preferred; demonstrated strengths in executive communication, stakeholder engagement, strategic execution, financial stewardship, workforce development, continuous improvement, innovation, problem-solving, decision-making, and cross-functional collaboration. Professional certifications in project management, Agile methodologies, business analysis, enterprise architecture (including TOGAF), cloud platforms, DevOps, accessibility, learning technologies, product management, or IT service management are desirable.
All submissions should include a cover letter and resume. UMGC offers competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits for qualifying positions, such as tuition remission, generous leave and healthcare. For detailed benefits information, please visit: https://careers.umgc.edu/benefits.html.
The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination. UMGC is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, ancestry, political affiliation or veteran status in employment, educational