Sr Manager, Salesforce Solutions Engineering

If you're passionate about building a better future for individuals, communities, and our country-and you're committed to working hard to play your part in building that future-consider WGU as the next step in your career.

Driven by a mission to expand access to higher education through online, competency-based degree programs, WGU is also committed to being a great place to work for a diverse workforce of student-focused professionals. The university has pioneered a new way to learn in the 21st century, one that has received praise from academic, industry, government, and media leaders. Whatever your role, working for WGU gives you a part to play in helping students graduate, creating a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.

The salary range for this position takes into account the wide range of factors that are considered in making compensation decisions including but not limited to skill sets; experience and training; licensure and certifications; and other business and organizational needs.

At WGU, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top of the range for their position, and compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. A reasonable estimate of the current range is:

Job Description

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and lead the Salesforce platform strategy to support institutional goals such as student recruitment, retention, alumni engagement, and operational efficiency.
• Align Salesforce initiatives with the university's digital transformation roadmap, ensuring the platform supports academic, administrative, and student service functions.
• Collaborate with academic and administrative leadership to identify opportunities for innovation and improved service delivery through Salesforce solutions.

Team and Project Management

• Manage a team of Salesforce developers, administrators, and analysts, ensuring timely and high-quality delivery of projects that support departments such as Admissions, Financial Aid, Student Services, and Advancement.
• Oversee project planning, resource allocation, and execution using Agile or hybrid methodologies tailored to the academic calendar and institutional priorities.
• Platform Oversight and Optimization
• Lead the design, customization, and deployment of Salesforce solutions, including Education Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Experience Cloud, to enhance student lifecycle management.
• Ensure platform performance, data integrity, and compliance with FERPA and other education-related regulations.
• Integrate Salesforce with campus systems such as SIS (Student Information Systems), LMS (Learning Management Systems), and third-party tools like Mulesoft or Informatica.

Stakeholder Collaboration

• Serve as a strategic partner to departments across the institution, gathering requirements and translating them into scalable Salesforce solutions.
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration between IT, Enrollment Management, Advancement, and other key units to ensure alignment and adoption of Salesforce capabilities.

Governance and Compliance

• Establish governance frameworks for Salesforce usage, including data access, change management, and user roles, in compliance with institutional policies and regulatory standards.
• Promote best practices in data stewardship and ensure secure handling of student and institutional data.

Budgeting and Vendor Management

• Develop and manage budgets for Salesforce-related initiatives, ensuring cost-effective use of resources.
• Manage relationships with Salesforce partners, consultants, and vendors to support implementation, training, and ongoing support.
• Reporting and Analytics
• Oversee the development of dashboards and reports to provide actionable insights for departments such as Admissions, Student Success, and Institutional Research.
• Use data analytics to inform strategic decisions and measure the impact of Salesforce initiatives on institutional outcomes.

Knowledge, Skill, and Abilities:

• Provide technical and architectural leadership and successfully coach an engineering team.
• Develop and direct software system testing procedures, programming, and documentation; demonstrated commitment to efficient, secure, scalable, and maintainable code and engineering practices.
• Demonstrated ability to understand business needs and execute on a business strategy.
• Manage multiple tasks and responsibilities in rapid, deadline-driven environments, excelling at pinpointing and resolving problems in early project stages to avoid cost/time expenses.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; able to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical team members, external stakeholders, and management.
• Maintain effective working relationships with team members and stakeholders.
• Self-starter with bias for action while maintaining stable, secure user experiences.
• Ability to ramp up quickly on new technologies.
• Exhibit strong attention to detail and excellent judgement.

Core Competencies:

Organizational Impact

• Develops and implements strategic initiatives that align Salesforce IT operations with broader departmental and institutional goals, directly influencing divisional performance and long-term success.
• Applies a strong understanding of university systems and structures to assess the broader impact of decisions and ensure alignment with institutional priorities.
• Leads the preparation and analysis of financial data to support budget planning, ensuring fiscal responsibility and alignment with strategic objectives.
• Problem Solving and Decision Making
• Drives continuous improvement by identifying and implementing enhancements to Salesforce platforms, processes, and integrations that increase efficiency, scalability, and user satisfaction.
• Coordinates cross-functional initiatives and maintains strong partnerships with internal stakeholders and external vendors to ensure seamless execution of complex projects.
• Applies advanced analytical skills and industry expertise to navigate ambiguous challenges, leveraging data and experience to develop innovative, effective solutions.
• Communication and Influence
• Communicates effectively across technical and non-technical audiences, including internal teams, university departments, and external partners, to ensure clarity and alignment on project goals and outcomes.
• Represents the Salesforce IT function in discussions with external-facing units (e.g., Admissions), addressing both routine and complex matters with professionalism and strategic insight.
• Ensures compliance with university policies and procedures, and influences adoption of best practices across departments through clear communication and collaborative engagement.
• Leadership and Talent Management
• Leads and develops a high-performing team of Salesforce professionals, providing direction, mentorship, and support to ensure successful project delivery and career growth.
• Oversees staffing decisions, including hiring, performance evaluations, promotions, and professional development, fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
• Achieves departmental goals through effective team leadership, empowering team members to take initiative while maintaining alignment with strategic priorities.

Job (Minimum) Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field.
• Over 10 years of progressive experience in Salesforce application development, including both hands-on development and leadership roles, with a strong focus on custom solutions and platform enhancements.
• Proficient in technologies such as Java, RESTful APIs, and XML.
• Demonstrated experience integrating third-party tools, including Informatica and MuleSoft, into existing enterprise infrastructure.
• Advanced expertise in Oracle Database management and development.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience leading and mentoring teams of Salesforce software engineering professionals.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Minimum of 5 years of experience leading teams of software engineering professionals, with a demonstrated ability to drive technical excellence and team performance.
• Master's degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a closely related field.

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Position & Application Details

How to Apply: If interested, an application will need to be submitted online. Internal WGU employees will need to apply through the internal job board in Workday.

Additional Information

Disclaimer: The job posting highlights the most critical responsibilities and requirements of the job. It's not all-inclusive.

Accommodations: Applicants with disabilities who require assistance or accommodation during the application or interview process should contact our Talent Acquisition team at recruiting@wgu.edu.

Equal Employment Opportunity: All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any protected characteristic as required by law.