Director, Engineering Tech Lead

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Date: Feb 20, 2026

Location: Chicago, IL, US, 60607

Company: McDonald's Corporation

Company Description: 

McDonald’s growth strategy, Accelerating the Arches, encompasses all aspects of our business as the leading global omni-channel restaurant brand. As the consumer landscape shifts we are using our competitive advantages to further strengthen our brand. One of our core growth strategies is to Double Down on the 3Ds (Delivery, Digital and Drive Thru). McDonald’s will accelerate technology innovation so 65M+ customers a day will experience a fast, easy experience, whether at one of our 25,000 and growing Drive thrus, through McDelivery, dine-in or takeaway.  

McDonald’s Global Technology is here to power tomorrow’s feel-good moments.   

That’s why you’ll find us at the forefront of transformative technology, exploring new and innovative ways to serve our millions of customers and spread happiness one delicious Hot Fudge Sundae-dipped fry at a time. Using AI, robotics and emerging tech, we’re digitizing the Golden Arches. Combine that with our unparalleled global scale, and we’re reshaping all areas of the business, industry and every community that is home to a McDonald’s restaurant. We face complex tech challenges every day. But that’s where our diverse and talented teams come in. They’re made up of the best and brightest from all over the globe, and they thrive in the space where feel-good meets fast-paced.   

Check out the McDonald’s  Global Technology Technical Blog to learn how technology and our global team are directly enabling the Accelerating the Arches strategy.  

Department Overview

The Commercial Products & Platforms team develops digital experiences and global technology platforms. These platforms delight our customers and let them order on their terms—seamlessly, reliably, and conveniently across mobile, web, kiosks, and future channels.

Serving as the Director and Tech Lead for our digital platform, you will lead engineering teams tasked with maintaining and evolving the platform used by commerce and customer experience products. It supports billions of dollars in commerce each year. This is an outstanding opportunity to guide a world-class team in perfecting technological transformations!

Your role will involve setting the strategic direction and driving the platform's technical evolution. You will make key technology and architectural decisions to improve its security, health, and performance.

This role manages the move of the digital platform to Google Cloud, reinforces security protocols, and leads FinOps adoption efforts, reporting to the Senior Director, Engineering Tech Lead in the Customer Technology organization.

Duties

  • The Commercial Products & Platforms team develops digital experiences and global technology platforms. These platforms delight our customers and let them order on their terms—seamlessly, reliably, and conveniently across mobile, web, kiosks, and future channels.
  • Serving as the Director and Tech Lead for our digital platform, you will lead engineering teams tasked with maintaining and evolving the platform used by commerce and customer experience products. It supports billions of dollars in commerce each year. This is an outstanding opportunity to guide a world-class team in perfecting technological transformations!
  • Your role will involve setting the strategic direction and driving the platform's technical evolution. You will make key technology and architectural decisions to improve its security, health, and performance.
  • This role manages the move of the digital platform to Google Cloud, reinforces security protocols, and leads FinOps adoption efforts, reporting to the Senior Director, Engineering Tech Lead in the Customer Technology organization.

Qualifications

  • At least 10 years experience in hands-on technical roles showing progressive growth in responsibilities, with a strong background in software engineering, system development, and cloud platforms.
  • At least 5 years experience with Cloud-native platforms, with deep expertise in Google Cloud, Kubernetes, container orchestration, service mesh, multi-cluster operations, and modern microservices architectures.
  • At least 7 years’ experience working in an Agile software development environment and leading software engineering teams.
  • Strong understanding of security guidelines and compliance standards (e.g., GDPR, PCI-DSS) for handling sensitive customer data.
  • Proven experience as a people manager and servant leader, with an interest in coaching and mentoring both direct and indirect reports.
  • Outstanding ability to share information clearly, extensive experience collaborating with multiple partners and across functions, with a curiosity about simplifying technical details and decisions for non-technical audiences.
  • Strong sense of ownership and accountability for what you and your teams deliver, with high personal standards and an uncompromising attention to detail.

Preferred qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree or higher in computer science, software engineering, or related technical fields.
  • Domain-specific experience working with customer-facing applications, ideally in a QSR or adjacent industry space, strongly preferred.

 

 

Compensation

Bonus Eligible: YES

Long - Term Incentive: YES

Benefits Eligible: YES

Salary Range

The expected salary range for this role is $195,371.00 - $244,214.00 per year
 
The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we may also consider your experience, and other job-related factors.

Additional Information: 

Benefits eligible: This position offers health and welfare benefits, a 401(k) plan, adoption assistance program, educational assistance program, flexible ways of working, and time off policies (including sick leave, parental leave, and vacation/PTO). Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on job classification and length of employment.  

Bonus eligible: This position is eligible for a bonus, calculated based on individual and company performance. 

Long term Incentive eligible: This position is eligible for stock or other equity grants pursuant to McDonald’s long-term incentive plan. 

McDonald’s is an equal opportunity employer committed to the diversity of our workforce. We promote an inclusive work environment that creates feel-good moments for everyone. McDonald’s provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities as part of the application or hiring process or to perform the essential functions of their job. If you need assistance accessing or reading this job posting or otherwise feel you need an accommodation during the application or hiring process, please contact mcdhrbenefits@us.mcd.com. Reasonable accommodations will be determined on a case-by-case basis. 

McDonald’s provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to sex, sex stereotyping, pregnancy (including pregnancy, childbirth, and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), race, color, religion, ancestry or national origin, age, disability status, medical condition, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, protected military or veteran status, citizenship status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training. 

Nothing in this job posting or description should be construed as an offer or guarantee of employment. 


Nearest Major Market: Chicago