Back End Software Engineering Functional Group Manager

General Atomics Intelligence; Charlottesville (VA); On-site; USD 126,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

GA-Intelligence in Charlottesville, VA seeks a Functional Group Manager to lead the Backend Software Engineering function. You will be the home room manager for 20–40 backend engineers, guiding career development, hiring, and workforce planning across Solutions and Products teams.

The role blends people leadership with technical community building, staffing strategy, mentoring, and driving engineering excellence in a matrix organization with DoD collaborations.

Qualifications

• Typically requires a Bachelor's, Master's or PhD in engineering or related technical field.
• 11+ years of progressively complex software engineering experience.
• 8+ years in people management or technical leadership.
• Strong background in Java, Python, Go, microservices, databases, APIs, cloud platforms.
• Experience in recruiting and interviewing technical talent.
• Ability to navigate a matrix organization and obtain DoD clearance.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the administrative supervisor and home room manager for 20-40 software engineers.
• Aggregate performance feedback and execute reviews in GA HR systems.
• Establish and maintain career paths for software engineers.
• Make strategic staffing decisions across Solution and Product teams.
• Lead hiring for backend-leaning roles with GA Talent Acquisition.
• Coordinate professional development budgets and communities of practice.
• Organize onboarding and integration training for new hires.

Skills

Java

Python

Go

Microservices

Databases

APIs

Cloud platforms

Staffing decisions

Mentoring engineers

Engineering leadership

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD in engineering or related field

Job description

GA-Intelligence maintains and deploys production systems for users across the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, and commercial industry. We build and develop best-in-class all domain and globally focused situational awareness capabilities, including THRESHER and DRAGONSPELL, that process petabytes of data in near real time. Our systems apply state-of-the-art algorithms and machine learning techniques to extract features and fuse data to form a rich live view of objects in the sky, on the sea, and on the ground. Our rapidly growing suite of federal software solutions are used by thousands of intelligence analysts and military personnel around the globe to counter new and emerging threats to national security.

GA-Intelligence is establishing a People organization with a matrix staffing model to support our rapid growth and technical excellence. We are seeking an experienced Functional Group Manager to lead our Backend Software Engineering function, serving as the "home room" manager for approximately 20-40 backend software engineers while they execute technical work across Solutions and Products teams. As a Functional Group Manager, you will be responsible for the professional wellbeing, career development, and administrative oversight of the backend software engineers assigned to you. You will partner with Solutions and Products leadership on workforce allocation, lead hiring efforts for your functional group, and foster technical excellence through communities of practice and professional development initiatives. This role balances people management, technical community leadership, and strategic workforce planning.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

TALENT MANAGEMENT & CAREER DEVELOPMENT

• Serve as the administrative supervisor and "home room" manager for 20-40 software engineers
• Aggregate performance feedback from Solutions/Products technical leaders and execute performance reviews within GA Corporate HR systems
• Establish and maintain career paths specific to software engineering

STAFFING & RESOURCE ALLOCATION

• Make strategic staffing decisions, assigning engineers to Solution and Product development teams based on business priorities
• Conduct regular check-ins with day-to-day supervisors to discuss employee performance and assignment fit

RECRUITING & HIRING

• Serve as hiring manager for new backend-leaning engineering hires and coordinate with GA Talent Acquisition partners
• Establish function-specific hiring practices for backend-leaning engineering roles
• Train staff on hiring process, particularly technical screens and interview best practices

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNITY BUILDING

• Coordinate internal experimentation with emerging technologies, ensuring learnings are shared across teams
• Manage professional development budget allocation for your functional group
• Organize and support communities of interest/excellence for backend engineering topics

ONBOARDING & INTEGRATION

• Create and maintain function-relevant onboarding training materials for backend-leaning engineers
• Coordinate structured onboarding training for new hires

ADDITIONAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Participate in strategic workforce planning to anticipate future skill needs for backend engineering
• Coordinate with Engineering Enablement Lead on developer experience improvements, tooling, and infrastructure
• Contribute to building a developer-first culture focused on technical excellence
• Work within GA Corporate HR systems, policies, and performance review cycles
• Track and report on key metrics including employee satisfaction, retention, staffing fulfillment, and professional development participation

We recognize and appreciate the value and contributions of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences and welcome all qualified individuals to apply.

JOB QUALIFICATIONS

• Typically requires a Bachelors, Masters or PhD in engineering or a related technical field as well as eleven or more years of progressively complex software engineering experience. Equivalent experience may be substituted in lieu of education.
• 8+ years of related experience, including 3+ years in a people management or technical leadership role.
• Strong technical background in software engineering, with demonstrated expertise in relevant technologies (e.g., Java, Python, Go, microservice architectures, databases, APIs, cloud platforms)
• Proven experience managing, mentoring, or leading software engineers
• Track record of developing engineers from junior to senior levels
• Excellent judgment in making staffing and resource allocation decisions
• Experience conducting performance reviews and managing career development
• Demonstrated ability to balance competing priorities and manage stakeholder expectations
• Understanding of software development lifecycle and agile methodologies
• Experience with recruiting and interviewing technical talent
• Ability to build trust and relationships across organizational boundaries
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with ability to influence without direct authority
• Comfort operating in a matrix organization structure
• Ability to obtain and maintain DoD security clearance required.

PREFERRED SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

An ideal candidate will have additional specific experience with many of the following:

• Experience establishing or scaling technical organizations or engineering teams
• Background in multiple technology stacks and architectures
• Familiarity with professional development frameworks and career ladders for engineers
• Previous experience in a matrix organization or similar dual-reporting structure
• Experience navigating corporate HR systems while advocating for technical teams
• Contributions to technical communities (conferences, open source, publications)
• Understanding of government contracting and cleared environments
• Experience with developer productivity metrics and engineering effectiveness
• Strong network in the engineering community for recruiting purposes

NOTE

This role is part of GA-Intelligence's 2026 organizational transformation to a matrix structure. As a Functional Group Manager, you'll be instrumental in building the People organization from the ground up and establishing processes that will define how we support our technical workforce for years to come.

Job Type: Full-Time Salary

Salary range: 125,810 - 229,670