Software Engineering Manager
We are seeking an Engineering Manager, to lead a team of developers and analysts responsible for building, delivering, and supporting technology products that power Ford's dealer platforms. This is a people leader role with full ownership of the product lifecycle from roadmap and requirements through development, release, and production support. You will need genuine hands-on technical fluency across our stack (GCP, Java Springboot microservices, PostgreSQL/Oracle, React, Angular) to lead your team credibly, guide technical trade-off decisions, and troubleshoot effectively when issues arise. You will also serve as the primary bridge to business stakeholders, translating dealer and business needs into a clear roadmap while ensuring reliable, high-quality delivery and platform stability.
Team Leadership
Lead, manage, and mentor a team of 10+ developers and analysts, organizing the team into effective areas as needed.
Set clear performance expectations, conduct regular 1:1s, and drive career growth and development for direct reports.
Build a strong team culture focused on ownership, quality, and continuous improvement.
Manage hiring, onboarding, and resource planning for the team.
Delivery & Production Ownership
Own end-to-end delivery: sprint planning, prioritization, resourcing, and removing blockers.
Own production support for dealer platform products incident management, root-cause analysis, and driving resolution of production issues.
Establish and monitor SLAs/operational metrics for platform reliability and support responsiveness.
Manage delivery risk track timelines, dependencies, and technical debt; escalate and communicate proactively.
Drive Agile/Scrum ceremonies and continuously improve delivery and support processes.
Product & Technical Ownership
Own the product roadmap and strategy for dealer platform products, balancing business priorities, technical feasibility, and platform health.
Engage hands-on in technical discussions architecture, API design, Microservices, data modeling on GCP, Java Springboot Microservices, PostgreSQL/Oracle, React, Angular to guide sound engineering decisions.
Translate business/dealer requirements into clear epics, user stories, and acceptance criteria.
Ensure scalability, reliability, and quality through active involvement in technical design and code/architecture reviews.
Stakeholder Management
Serve as the primary point of contact between the development team and business stakeholders (marketing, sales, dealer operations, IT).
Gather, prioritize, and align on requirements with stakeholders; manage expectations on scope, timing, and trade-offs.
Provide regular updates to leadership and stakeholders on roadmap progress, delivery status, production health, and risks.
Partner with UX/design and cross-functional teams to ensure cohesive, friendly product experiences.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Business, or related field (or equivalent experience).
7+ years of experience in product management and/or engineering leadership, including direct management of engineering/analyst teams of 10+.
Hands-on technical background with GCP, PostgreSQL or Oracle, Java Springboot microservices, React, and Angular.
Proven experience owning full product lifecycle delivery, including production support and incident management.
Experience working directly with business stakeholders to define priorities and manage expectations.
Strong people leadership skills coaching, performance management, hiring, and team development.
Solid understanding of API design, microservices architecture, and system integration patterns.
Experience in Agile/Scrum environments as a team or delivery lead.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience with automotive dealer systems, dealer management systems , or B2B platforms.
Prior hands-on software engineering experience before moving into product/delivery leadership.
Experience managing larger (10+), possibly distributed or hybrid, engineering/analyst teams.
Experience with on-call/production support models and incident management frameworks (e.g., ITIL, SRE practices).
Familiarity with data governance, security, and compliance in enterprise platforms.