Software Engineering Manager (m/f/i)

The (Senior) Software Engineering Manager leads the software engineering and product team for a global, cloud-based digital platform around Laboratory Automation & Digitization. Sub-product owners and software developers report to this role. Own the full lifecycle, from demand intake and prioritization through requirements engineering, development, testing, QA, release, production support, and business continuity. Mature the team and its processes, scale delivery, and help drive digital transformation in laboratory operations.

• Oversees all steps of system development life cycles to assure conformance with established standards.
• Resolves problems by devising or modifying procedures.
• Considers equipment capacity and limitations, operating time, and form of desired results when developing resolutions.
• Provides direction and assistance to complete analysis of software technology projects and programs.
• Defines project requirements by identifying project milestones, forming project team, establishing project budget, developing schedules, assigning, prioritizing and monitoring work, implementing productivity standards, and resolving operations problems.
• Develops long and short-range strategic operating plans for the implementation and deployment of software services.
• Monitors project progress by tracking activity, resolving problems, publishing progress reports, and recommending actions.
• Determines the appropriate staffing for assigned software services.
• Directs the selection and training of personnel within the limits of organization administrative policy.
• Interfaces with other departments to establish and analyze product technology needs.
• Responsible for Service Level Agreements or Operational Level Agreements for assigned software services.
• Manages the performance of direct reports by defining accountabilities, establishing performance objectives, providing feedback and guidance, and ensuring that all policies are understood and followed.
• coordinate functions of multiple group leaders and their teams.
• Read and follow the Underwriters Laboratories Code of Conduct and follow all physical and digital security practices.
• Performs other duties as directed.

Team management

• Lead, coach, and develop the sub-product owners and software developers on the team. Set clear goals, run performance reviews, and build a culture of ownership, quality, and continuous improvement.
• Scale the team through hiring, onboarding, clear roles and responsibilities, and skills development.
• Lead, coach, and develop software engineers, fostering individual growth and team effectiveness
• Define clear expectations, responsibilities, and development goals for team members.
• Conduct regular one-to-ones, provide constructive feedback, and support career development.
• Build an inclusive, collaborative high performing and engaged team across three time zones
• Support recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and talent retention.
• Identify skill gaps and enable continuous learning and knowledge sharing.
• Manage capacity across several delivery streams, and coordinate with IT partners and external development vendors.

Software engineering leadership

• Own technical delivery for the platform, including the web application, backend services, APIs, integrations, and data pipelines.
• Set and enforce engineering standards: architecture and design reviews, code reviews, branching strategy, CI/CD, automated testing, and release management.
• Work with enterprise architecture, cloud, network, and cybersecurity teams on scalability, high availability, security, and lifecycle management.
• Manage technical debt actively and keep the platform maintainable and secure.

Scrum and delivery

• Run a mature Agile/Scrum process in Azure DevOps, including backlog refinement, sprint planning, stand-ups, reviews, and retrospectives.
• Guide the sub-product owners in backlog management, requirements engineering, and acceptance criteria. Make sure work can be traced from demand to release.
• Measure and improve delivery with clear KPIs, such as throughput, lead time, deployment frequency, defect rate, and incident resolution time.
• Report delivery status, capacity, and risks transparently to leadership.

Demand and portfolio management

• Own the demand intake and prioritization process. Assess requests from business stakeholders on value, effort, risk, and strategic fit.
• Balance new features, integrations, technical debt, and support work, and explain the trade-offs clearly.
• Translate business strategy into a roadmap and an executable backlog.

Digital transformation

• Drive adoption of the platform across global sites together with operations, process excellence, and change management teams.
• Replace local, manual, or document-based tools with standardized digital workflows.
• Enable data-driven operations through integration with enterprise systems, BI reporting, and AI/ML use cases.

Project and stakeholder management

• Plan and track projects and rollouts, including scope, timeline, budget, risks, and dependencies.
• Manage stakeholders in a global, matrixed organization, including operations leadership, business units, IT, cybersecurity, and vendors. Communicate at the right level for each audience.

Support and business continuity

• Own production support through the ITSM process (ServiceNow), including incident triage, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and user communication.
• Define support tiers, severity classification, escalation paths, and service levels.
• Maintain business continuity and disaster recovery plans, and run regular continuity exercises.
• Make sure software validation and documentation meet the quality requirements of an accredited laboratory environment (ISO/IEC 17025).

General

• Read and follow the Underwriters Laboratories Code of Conduct, and follow all physical and digital security practices.
• Performs other duties as directed.

Required

• University degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or a related discipline.
• Advanced experience leading software development teams, including direct people management of developers and product owners or business analysts.
• Track record of delivering and running business-critical, cloud-based applications, preferably on Microsoft Azure.
• Solid software engineering background, with enough technical depth to guide architecture and design decisions. Experience with Python and modern JavaScript frameworks is a plus.
• Strong hands-on experience with Agile and Scrum, including running ceremonies, managing backlogs, and coaching teams.
• Hands-on experience with Azure DevOps and GitHub, including boards, repositories, pipelines, and CI/CD.
• Strong project management skills: planning, budgeting, risk management, and delivery tracking.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills in a global, matrixed, multicultural organization.

• Experience with production support, incident management, and ITSM processes.

Preferred

• Experience leading digital transformation or platform adoption programs across several sites or regions.
• Experience maturing development processes and scaling teams.
• Experience with enterprise integration, data platforms, BI, or AI/ML in production.
• Experience in regulated or quality-controlled environments, such as ISO/IEC 17025, ISO 9001, or GxP.
• Exposure to laboratory, test and measurement, or industrial automation environments.
• Certification in Scrum (PSM, CSM), SAFe, or project management (PMP, PRINCE2).

We understand that remuneration and benefits are important when deciding on your next career move. The annual salary range for this position is EUR 65.000 - 85.000 gross, determined by numerous factors, including knowledge, skills, and experience  This position also offers an annual bonus of up to 20% of annual salary. We also offer 21 vacation days, lunch voucher (10€ per working day),Voluntary Individual Pension Plan, Fiscal Assistance, access to the ULS University learning platform to support your development and learning, two additional days off for volunteering, and flexible working to support your work-life balance. 

This position is gender-neutral and open to all qualified candidates, regardless of gender identity.

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