Director of Engineering – User Experience

Here at Scout Motors, we're carrying forward the heritage of one of the most iconic American vehicles in history. A vehicle dating back to 1960. One that forged the path for future generations of rugged SUVs and trucks and will do so once again.

But Scout is more than just a brand, it’s a legacy steeped in a culture of exploration, caretaking, and hard work.

The Scout brand is all about respect. Respect for the past and the future by taking an iconic American brand that hasn’t been around for a while, electrifying it, digitizing it, and loading it with American innovation. Respect for communities by creating a company that stands for its people and its customers. Respect for both work and play, with vehicles that are equally at home at a camp site, a job site, or on a Tuesday commute. And respect for our customers by developing two powertrains that meet their requirements - an all-electric powertrain as well as the Harvester™ range extender powertrain which includes a built-in gas-powered generator with an estimated 500 miles of combined range.

At Scout Motors, we empower our talented, inclusive, and entrepreneurial teams to innovate. What makes a Scout employee? Someone who is a visionary and a leader, who seeks new paths and shares lessons learned. A knowledgeable doer who collaborates across the company to build better. A go-getter with unrivaled passion.

Join us at Scout Motors and be part of shaping the future of transportation. If you're ready to drive change and make history, apply now!

Overview

As Director of Engineering - User Experience, you will lead the engineering organization responsible for Scout Motors' customer facing Digital Products on Web and Mobile. You will lead multiple engineering teams delivering the customer facing web experience for product, brand, and growth areas, and interface with our Sales Engineering team on building an end-to-end checkout process. In addition, this role will lead a mobile engineering team responsible for the Scout mobile vehicle companion that includes the Vehicle controls and interactions along so a Scout customer purchasing experience. You will partner closely with Product, UX, Operations, Sales, Marketing, IT, Vehicle Engineering and external partners to deliver these critical applications and solutions supporting Scout's direct-to-consumer business.

What you’ll do

Become part of an iconic brand that is set to revolutionize the electric pick-up truck & rugged SUV marketplace by achieving the following:

• Direct engineering efforts supporting the complete customer lifecycle, from brand discovery and vehicle purchase through delivery, ownership, service engagement, accessories, and long-term customer relationship management.
• Direct engineering teams responsible for the mobile application that comprises customer commercial experiences along with vehicle companion controls and functions.
• Define and execute engineering strategy, web front-end architecture, and technical roadmaps aligned with Digital Product Engineering and company objectives.
• Partner with Growth, Marketing, Product, and Analytics teams to drive experimentation, A/B testing, personalization, and conversion optimization across customer acquisition and e-commerce funnels.
• Partner with senior leaders across Product, Finance, Operations, Vehicle Engineering, IT, Legal, and external partners to align priorities, resolve complex cross-functional challenges, and drive business outcomes.
• Build and develop engineering leaders, including Engineering Managers, Principal Engineers, and Staff Engineers, while establishing succession plans and organizational capabilities that scale with business growth.
• Drive continuous improvement in Core Web Vitals, application responsiveness, reliability, and site availability to deliver best-in-class customer experiences.
• Own operational planning, capacity management, vendor engagements, and delivery execution across the Customer Experience Engineering organization.
• Hire, coach, and grow engineering leaders while building a strong engineering culture.
• Influence AI-assisted software development and modern engineering practices to improve developer productivity and software quality.
• Influence executive decision-making through clear communication of engineering strategy, platform investments, business tradeoffs, organizational and engineering health, delivery risk, and long-term technology direction.
• Foster a culture of ownership, collaboration, continuous improvement, and customer obsession.
• Partner with Cybersecurity, Legal, Privacy, and Compliance teams to ensure customer-facing applications meet security, privacy, regulatory, and data governance requirements.
• Lead the design and evolution of digital platforms capable of supporting future regional expansion, multiple markets, localized experiences, payment methods, and evolving regulatory requirements.
• Own engineering standards and investment priorities for web performance, accessibility, SEO, resiliency, and overall digital experience quality across customer-facing web properties.
• Define and monitor key performance indicators across digital commerce, customer engagement, application performance, reliability, conversion, retention, and customer satisfaction.
• Champion a data-driven engineering culture leveraging behavioral analytics, customer insights, experimentation, application telemetry, and operational metrics to guide investment decisions and product improvements.
• Drive investments in platform architecture, engineering excellence, automation, and self-service capabilities that enable rapid product innovation, operational efficiency, and business scalability.
• Develop and execute the long-term engineering roadmap for customer-facing platforms, APIs, content management systems, experimentation frameworks, observability, and developer experience capabilities, while driving investments in platform architecture, automation, engineering excellence, and self-service tooling.
• Partner closely with Vehicle Software Engineering and Platform teams to deliver secure, reliable, and scalable integrations between customer-facing mobile applications and vehicle systems.
• Define the engineering vision for mobile applications as a core component of the vehicle ownership experience, enabling vehicle access, vehicle controls, notifications, charging management, service interactions, and connected customer experiences.
• Lead platform capabilities supporting customer identity, authentication, account management, customer profiles, and seamless user experiences across web, mobile, and connected digital touchpoints.
• Own engineering strategy and execution for digital commerce experiences including vehicle configuration, reservation flows, checkout, financing, trade-in, delivery scheduling, and post-purchase customer journeys.
• Translate company growth objectives, customer experience goals, and business priorities into engineering investment strategies and execution plans.
• Partner with platform and infrastructure teams to ensure highly available, resilient, and scalable customer-facing digital services.
• Establish and monitor engineering health metrics including delivery predictability, platform reliability, developer productivity, quality, and operational excellence.
• Own prioritization, sequencing, and execution planning across customer-facing web and mobile engineering portfolios to ensure alignment with company objectives and resource constraints.

Location & Travel Expectations:

• This role will be remote and based out of the Scout Motors location in  Fremont, California.
• This role requires occasional days in the office, with regular in-person meetings and events. 
• Applicants should expect that the role will require the ability to convene with Scout colleagues in person and travel to participate in events on behalf of the company from time to time.
• Travel: Occasional travel for workshops, planning sessions, vendor meetings, testing events, and company events.

What you’ll bring 

We expect all Scout employees to have integrity, curiosity, resourcefulness, and strive to exhibit a positive attitude, as well as a growth mindset. You’ll be comfortable with change and flexible in a fast-paced, high-growth environment. You’ll take a collaborative approach to achieve ambitious goals. Here's what else you'll bring:

• Bachelor's or master’s degree in computer science or related field.
• 12+ years of software engineering experience, including significant experience leading multiple engineering teams or engineering managers within a complex technology organization.
• Demonstrated ability to influence business strategy, drive organizational alignment, and deliver outcomes across multiple cross-functional stakeholders.
• Strong background in web front-end development frameworks, responsive UI, in building highly interactive and performant web-based product marketing and e-commerce solutions.
• Background and familiarity in mobile application frameworks on iOS and Android.
• Experience with web and mobile analytics tools to improve customer engagement and user experience.
• Experience leading managers, senior managers, principal engineers, and cross-functional engineering organizations.
• Demonstrated success building and scaling high-performing engineering organization including hiring, mentoring, and growing engineering managers and senior technical leaders.
• Experience owning organizational planning, prioritization, resource management, and large-scale technology investments.
• Experience driving AI-assisted engineering practices and engineering productivity.
• Strong understanding of performance engineering, accessibility standards, SEO best practices, and modern customer experience technologies.
• Experience implementing experimentation platforms, A/B testing strategies, analytics frameworks, and data-driven decision-making processes.
• Experience building and scaling consumer-facing digital commerce platforms with accountability for customer acquisition, conversion, engagement, and retention outcomes.

Nice to Have

• Automotive, ecommerce, or retail platform experience.
• Experience with payments, financing, CRM, ERP, DMS, or order management systems.
• Experience building AI-enabled engineering organizations.

What you'll gain

The benefits of joining Scout include the chance to build products and a company from the ground up.  This is a chance to create something new and lasting - with an iconic brand at its foundation.  In addition, Scout providescompetitive compensation and benefits to support your physical, mental, and financial wellbeing. Program specifics are detailed in company policies and employee benefit guides, select highlights:

• Competitive insurance including:
  • Medical, dental, vision and income protection plans
• 401(k) program with:
  • An employer match and immediate vesting
• Generous Paid Time Off including:
  • 20 days planned PTO, as accrued
  • 40 hours of unplanned PTO and 14 company or floating holidays, annually
  • Up to 16 weeks of paid parental leave for biological and adoptive parents of all genders
  • Paid leave for circumstances related to bereavement, jury duty, voting time, or military leave
• Corporate Vehicle Program with:
  • Eligibility for 1 assigned vehicle
  • A mobility stipend

Pay Transparency

This is a full-time, exempt position eligible to receive a base salary and to participate in an annual performance bonus program. Final salary offered will be determined based on factors including but not limited to the candidate's skills and experience. The annual performance bonus program is preset and not candidate dependent.

Initial base salary range = $210,000 - $255,000

Initial California, Washington and New York base salary range= $231,000 - $280,500

Internal leveling code: M6

Notice to applicants:

• To be considered for career opportunities at Scout Motors, applicants must be 18 years of age or older. 
• Residing in San Francisco: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, Scout Motors will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. 
• Residing in Los Angeles: Scout Motors will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. 
• Residing in New York City: This role is not eligible for remote work in New York City.

Equal Opportunity

Scout Motors is committed to employing a diverse workforce and is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, disability, pregnancy, or any other characteristics protected by law. Scout Motors is committed to compliance with all applicable fair employment practice laws. If you require reasonable accommodation to complete a job application, pre-employment testing, or a job interview or to otherwise participate in the hiring process, please contact [email protected].