Application Guide

How to Apply for Director of Engineering, Growth

at Workiva

🏢 About Workiva

Workiva is uniquely positioned at the intersection of ESG reporting and financial compliance, offering a platform that simplifies integrated reporting for climate impact and regulatory requirements. As a remote-first company with a strong engineering culture, it provides the autonomy to shape emerging solutions in a high-growth area. Working here means contributing to transparency and sustainability at scale.

About This Role

This role leads the engineering team behind Workiva's growth initiatives, owning the roadmap and architecture for new solutions that drive business expansion. You'll partner with senior product and business leaders to deliver measurable outcomes, leveraging AI to accelerate development and unlock new opportunities. It's a high-impact position where you'll shape both technical strategy and team execution.

💡 A Day in the Life

Your day might start with a stand-up with your direct reports (managers) to unblock teams, followed by a strategy session with product leadership to align on growth initiatives. You'll review architectural proposals, dive into code reviews for critical systems, and end the day by analyzing metrics to ensure teams are on track to deliver measurable outcomes.

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Interview Prep

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🎯 Who Workiva Is Looking For

  • Has 10+ years of experience (or equivalent advanced degree) with a strong track record in building scalable B2B SaaS platforms, preferably in growth or product engineering.
  • Possesses 5+ years of people management experience, including managing other managers, and can foster a high-performance engineering culture.
  • Brings applied knowledge of full-stack development with expertise in Java and modern cloud-native architectures, and experience guiding architectural decisions for complex systems.
  • Is comfortable with high autonomy and ambiguity, able to partner with product and business leaders to define strategy and drive measurable outcomes in a fast-paced environment.

📝 Tips for Applying to Workiva

1

Tailor your resume to highlight specific examples of leading engineering teams that built scalable B2B SaaS products over multiple releases, quantifying impact (e.g., revenue growth, user adoption).

2

Emphasize your experience with AI integrations—whether in accelerating development velocity or enabling product capabilities—as this is a key focus for the role.

3

Showcase your success in partnering with senior product and business leaders to align engineering roadmaps with company goals, using concrete metrics.

4

If you have experience with integrated reporting or ESG domains, mention it explicitly, as it aligns with Workiva's mission.

5

In your cover letter, demonstrate your understanding of Workiva's product (Wdesk) and how growth engineering can drive adoption and retention.

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

["Your passion for using AI to accelerate engineering and product growth, with specific examples of how you've applied AI in past roles.", 'Your experience in leading managers and building high-performing teams in a remote or distributed environment.', "Your ability to operate with autonomy and shape strategy in emerging areas, referencing Workiva's growth trajectory.", "Your alignment with Workiva's mission of transparency in ESG reporting, and how your technical leadership can contribute to that mission."]

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Study Workiva's Wdesk platform and how it integrates with ESG reporting frameworks (e.g., GRI, SASB, TCFD).
  • → Read about Workiva's growth strategy, recent product launches, and how engineering supports business expansion.
  • → Familiarize yourself with Workiva's engineering blog or any public talks by their CTO to understand their tech stack and culture.
  • → Review Workiva's approach to AI—any press releases or product updates about AI features they've introduced.

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Describe a time you led the architecture of a scalable B2B SaaS platform. What trade-offs did you make, and how did you ensure quality and speed?
2 How have you applied AI to improve development velocity or product capabilities? Walk through a specific implementation.
3 Tell me about a situation where you partnered with product and business leaders to define a roadmap. How did you handle disagreements?
4 How do you structure engineering teams for growth? Give an example of how you organized teams to deliver multiple releases.
5 What is your experience with Java and full-stack development? How do you stay current with technology trends?
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Focusing only on technical details without connecting them to business outcomes or growth metrics.
  • Underestimating the importance of people management experience—this role requires managing managers, so highlight leadership depth.
  • Not demonstrating familiarity with the ESG or integrated reporting space, even if you don't have direct experience—show willingness to learn.

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Workiva!

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