Senior Manager, Developer Experience

Vena; Toronto; On-site; CAD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Vena is searching for a Senior Manager, Developer Experience, to enhance its software development lifecycle through AI and modern engineering practices. This role emphasizes a blend of technology strategy and people leadership with significant organizational impact.

The ideal candidate has over 10 years in relevant fields and experience with cloud platforms like Azure or AWS. You will lead a distributed team across Canada and India, aiming to deeply improve developer productivity and code quality.

Qualifications

• Strong understanding of Developer Experience and Platform Engineering concepts.
• Experience with AI-assisted development tools.
• Proven ability to define and execute on a technical roadmap.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a globally distributed team across Canada and India.
• Define and operationalize a GenAI-first development model.
• Mentor and develop engineers and emerging leaders.

Skills

Developer Experience understanding

AI-assisted development tools

Cross-functional collaboration

Cloud platforms experience

Education

10+ years in DevOps or related fields

Leadership experience managing distributed teams

Tools

Azure

AWS

Job description

Senior Manager, Developer Experience

Department: Cloud Engineering

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: India - Resident (0008)

Reporting To: Brent Reeves

Description

Vena is looking for a Senior Manager, Developer Experience (DevEx) to join our SaaS Technology and Operations (STO) team. This role is ideal for a leader who is passionate about transforming how software is built by combining platform engineering, developer experience, and GenAI-first development practices.

As the leader of Developer Experience at Vena, you will define and execute a strategy that reimagines the software development lifecycle through AI-assisted engineering, intelligent automation, and modern developer platforms. Your mandate is to significantly improve developer productivity, accelerate delivery, and elevate code quality across the organization by embedding AI and automation directly into everyday workflows.

This role goes beyond traditional DevOps or tooling leadership. You will act as a thought leader in GenAI-enabled software development, continuously evaluating and introducing new capabilities that enhance how engineers design, build, test, and deploy software. You will partner closely with Product & Development teams to identify friction in the developer journey, obtain feedback via DevEx surveys and other mechanisms, and deliver scalable solutions that reduce cognitive load and unlock faster, more predictable delivery.

We are looking for a leader who thrives at the intersection of technology strategy, platform engineering, and people leadership—someone who can balance hands‑on technical depth with organizational impact, and who is motivated to shape the future of software development at Vena.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a globally distributed team across Canada and India while partnering closely with the Sr. Director of STO & Strategic Initiatives to define and execute a forward‑looking Developer Experience strategy centred on GenAI-first software development.
• Lead the adoption and integration of AI‑assisted development capabilities (e.g., Copilot, Cursor, internal AI agents), embedding them into the developer workflow to improve engineering velocity, code quality, test effectiveness, and overall productivity.
• Define and operationalize a GenAI‑first development model, identifying high‑impact opportunities across the product development lifecycle (PDLC) for automation, augmentation, and intelligent tooling.
• Own the strategy and delivery of Vena’s internal developer platform, including CI/CD, source control, artifact management, templated BFF services and developer self‑service capabilities, with a focus on reducing friction and cognitive load for engineers.
• Partner with Product & Development teams to identify bottlenecks in the developer journey and deliver scalable, high‑leverage solutions that improve speed and quality of delivery.
• Stay current with industry trends in Developer Experience, Platform Engineering, and AI‑driven development, rapidly evaluating and introducing new capabilities that provide a competitive advantage.
• Mentor and develop engineers and emerging leaders, fostering a culture of ownership, continuous improvement, and engineering excellence.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

• Strong understanding of Developer Experience and Platform Engineering concepts, including internal developer platforms and productivity optimization.
• Familiarity with developer productivity and delivery metrics (e.g., DORA metrics, flow metrics) and their application in improving engineering performance.
• Experience with AI‑assisted development tools and a strong interest in applying GenAI to improve the software development lifecycle.
• Strong cross‑functional collaboration and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Proven ability to define and execute on a technical roadmap supporting a broader engineering organization.
• Strong programming and software engineering fundamentals, with experience delivering production systems.
• Experience with cloud platforms (Azure and/or AWS) and infrastructure‑as‑code practices.
• Strong sense of ownership and accountability for team outcomes and organizational impact.

Preferred Qualifications (Optional)

• 10+ years of experience in DevOps, Platform Engineering, Software Engineering, or Developer Experience‑related roles.
• 4+ years of experience in a leadership role (Team Lead or Manager), with experience managing distributed teams.