Associate Software Engineer

Job description

Hybrid Austin, TX: The role requires a mix of days in CDK's Austin, TX office and can be worked remotely on the remaining days. Candidates must reside within commuting distance of this office. 

About Us: 

CDK Global is a leading provider of cloud-based software to dealerships and Original Equipment Manufacturers (“OEMs”) across automotive and related industries. The Company’s cloud-based, software as a service (“SaaS”) platform enables dealerships to manage their end-to-end business operations including the acquisition, sale, financing, insuring, repair, and maintenance of vehicles. By automating and streamlining critical workflows, the integrated platform of modern solutions enables dealers to sell and service more vehicles by creating simple and convenient experiences for customers and improves their financial and operational performance. 

Modern AI-Based Product Development 

About the Role :

We're hiring early-career engineers to build the next generation of automotive retail software — the platforms dealerships use to sell, finance, and service vehicles, and consumers use to shop for and buy their cars. 

You'll develop software the way the industry is heading: partnering with advanced AI systems to design, build, test, and ship production code, with you as the engineer of record. You'll start with AI-accelerated coding and progress toward delegating substantial development tasks to AI under your direction — specifying problems precisely, decomposing work, and rigorously verifying the output. We believe engineers who learn this way from day one will become the strongest AI-era engineers in the industry, and we're investing accordingly: structured mentorship, a defined progression path, and real production ownership early. 

Because our software runs dealership businesses and consumer purchases, the bar is high: velocity and quality, security designed in, lean code rather than AI-generated bloat, and disciplined AI cost management. This role is for someone with strong fundamentals, high curiosity, and the discipline to verify everything. 

Responsibilities & Essential Functions:

• Build and ship production software using modern AI-based development workflows, progressing from AI-accelerated coding to delegating well-scoped tasks to advanced AI systems 
• Write precise specifications, technical plans, and acceptance criteria that humans and AI systems can execute against 

• Own the correctness, security, and maintainability of everything you ship — rigorously review, test, and validate all AI-generated code, and never expose credentials, customer data, or proprietary code to unapproved tools 

• Keep codebases lean: resist AI-generated bloat, unnecessary dependencies, and over-engineering so today's velocity doesn't become tomorrow's technical debt 

• Use AI development resources cost-effectively, treating compute and tooling spend as an engineering constraint to optimize 

• Develop deep expertise in automotive retail — how dealerships operate and how consumers buy — the domain context that makes your direction of AI systems effective 

• Solve problems of moderate scope with increasing independence and sound technical judgment 

• Experiment with and share new AI development techniques and workflow improvements with your team 

• Plan and prioritize your own work with decreasing need for day-to-day direction; build strong relationships across engineering, product, and design 

• Participate in on-call rotations and emergency response to maintain platform reliability 

• Follow all CDK Global policies and procedures, including responsible AI usage guidelines; complete all mandatory compliance tasks 

• Meet or exceed all performance expectations 

Required Job Skills & Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field, with 0–2 years of professional experience 

• Experience with NodeJS, ReactJS, and AWS Cloud

• Strong command of at least one programming language and core CS fundamentals — the foundation for evaluating and improving AI-generated code, not just writing code by hand 

• Ability to read and reason about code you didn't write: spotting bugs, edge cases, security issues, and design problems 

• Excellent written communication — describing problems and designs precisely is a core skill in this role 

• Genuine curiosity about AI-based development, shown through coursework, projects, hackathons, or independent experimentation 

• A verification mindset: skepticism of unvalidated output, rigor in testing before trusting, and the instinct that more code is not better code and security cannot be bolted on afterward 

• Self-motivated fast learner — the tools will change; your adaptability won't 

• Collaborative problem-solver, effective independently and in teams; able to drive issues to timely resolution 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Substantive personal or academic projects using AI development tools — and the ability to articulate what worked, what failed, and what you learned 
• Experience with Spec-Driven Development (SDD), Kafka, and Mongo
• Exposure to version control, code review, automated testing, and CI/CD 

• Experience anywhere in a modern full stack (mobile/web front ends, backend APIs, databases, cloud) 

• Interest in building software that business operators and consumers depend on

Non-discrimination clause:

The employee must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily and, if requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship. CDK retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position as needed. 

Base Salary Range: $85,000 to $95,000

CDK Global is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. Compensation packages are based on several factors, including but not limited to skills, experience, certifications, and work location.  The total compensation package for this position may also include annual performance bonus, benefits and/or other applicable incentive compensation plans.We offer Medical, dental, and vision benefits in addition to:

• Paid Time Off (PTO)

• 401K Matching Program

• Tuition Reimbursement

At CDK, we believe inclusion and diversity are essential in inspiring meaningful connections to our people, customers and communities. We are open, curious and encourage different views, so that everyone can be their best selves and make an impact.

CDK is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to creating an inclusive workforce where everyone is valued. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, creed or religion, age, disability (including pregnancy), results of genetic testing, service in the military, veteran status or any other category protected by law.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for current or future employment-based visa sponsorship.

The employee must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily and, if requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship. CDK retains the right to change or assign other duties to this position as needed.