Strategic Education, Inc. (SEI) is a leading education services organization committed to expanding access to high-quality, career-relevant learning. Through its innovative portfolio of institutions, programs, and technology-driven platforms, SEI helps students achieve their educational and professional goals while partnering with employers to develop workforce-ready talent. The organization leverages data, technology, and student-centered design to deliver impactful learning experiences and drive improved outcomes.
The IT Manager will lead a team responsible for the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of software solutions, with a focus on student support platforms, including chatbot technologies. This role emphasizes technical leadership, solution architecture, and strategic oversight, requiring a strong understanding of modern software development practices, cloud-based architectures (including Google Cloud Platform), and conversational AI frameworks such as Dialogflow CX. The IT Manager will set technical direction, ensure scalable and secure solution design, and align technology initiatives with organizational goals, while also leading team development, cross-functional collaboration, and ownership of budget planning and resource allocation. The ideal candidate will have experience guiding IT teams, driving platform-level decisions, and delivering high-impact solutions, with a preference for experience in chatbot or conversational AI implementations.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
- Define the vision, architecture, and roadmap for enterprise-scale student support Conversational AI chatbot solutions.
- Own the end-to-end strategy, design, and delivery of conversational AI platforms.
- Lead the development and optimization of chatbots using CX Agent Studio, Dialogflow CX and GCP services.
- Manage and mentor a team of developers and engineers, including remote team members.
- Establish priorities, KPIs, and success metrics to balance delivery, quality, and innovation.
- Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to align solutions with business needs.
- Ensure chatbot solutions are scalable, secure, and aligned with enterprise architecture standards.
- Oversee budget planning, forecasting, and cost optimization for chatbot platforms and cloud infrastructure.
- Monitor system performance, usage analytics, and continuously improve chatbot effectiveness.
- Drive adoption of best practices in software engineering, DevOps, and agile methodologies.
- Provide regular updates to leadership on project progress, risks, and financial status.
- Ensure compliance with data privacy, security, and accessibility standards.
- Champion continuous improvement and innovation in AI-driven student support.
- Champion agile processes.
- Manage relationships with external vendors and partners, including contract coordination, deliverable tracking, and service quality assurance.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
Job Skills:
- Demonstrated ability to identify and solve ambiguous problems - technical, product and people.
- Track record of employing high-quality architectural principles and identifying and choosing between multiple architectural options.
- Working knowledge of database technologies such as SQL and relational database concepts.
- Understanding of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) services (e.g., Cloud Functions, BigQuery, APIs).
- Proven ability to design scalable chatbot architectures and integrations.
- Knowledge of APIs, integrations, and backend systems supporting chatbot ecosystems.
- Familiarity with programming languages such as React, Node.js, Python, or similar.
- Excellent problem-solving skills with ability to handle ambiguity.
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, and ability to influence at all levels in the organization.
- Passion for solving problems in education sector is a plus.
Work Experience:
- 6+ years of experience in software development, systems integration, or IT solutions.
- 2+ years of leadership experience managing technical teams.
- 5+ years of experience with cloud platforms (GCP strongly preferred).
- 1+ year of experience with conversational AI platforms
- 1+ year of experience with budgeting, cost management, and financial planning for IT projects.
- 1+ year of experience managing budgets and vendor/platform costs.
Education:
- Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution or an equivalent level of experience in Computer Science/Information Technology.
Other:
- Must be able to travel up to 10% of time
- Travel via plane, car, and public transportation may be required to perform this job
- Must have the flexibility to work more than 40 hours per week when business needs warrant.
- Must be able to lift 10 lbs.
- Mobility within the office including movement from floor to floor
- Access information using a computer
- Effectively communicate, both up and down the management chain
- Effectively cope with stressful situations
- Strong mental acuity
#LI-JD1
SEI offers a comprehensive package of benefits to employees scheduled 30 hours or more per week. In addition to medical, dental, vision, life and disability plans, SEI employees may take advantage of well-being incentives, parental leave, paid time off, certain paid holidays, tax saving accounts (FSA, HSA), 401(k) retirement benefit, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, tuition assistance as well as entertainment and retail discounts. Non-exempt employees are eligible for overtime pay, if applicable.
Careers - Our Benefits, Strategic Education, Inc
SEI is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture where individuals can grow their careers and contribute fully. We strive to attract talent with broad experiences, skills and perspectives. We welcome applications from all. While it is not typical for an individual to be hired at or near the top end of the pay range at SEI, we offer a competitive salary. The actual base pay offered to the successful candidate may vary depending on multiple factors including, but not limited to, job-related knowledge/skills, experience, business needs, geographical location, and internal pay equity. Our Talent Acquisition Team is ready to discuss your interest in joining SEI. The expected salary range for this position is below.
$106,500.00 - $159,800.00 - Salary
If you require reasonable accommodations to complete our application process, please contact our Human Resources Department at Careers@strategiced.com.
