Engineering Manager

First Due; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

First Due is seeking an experienced Engineering Manager to lead and grow a team of software engineers, shaping technical strategy and delivering scalable, reliable software solutions for fire and EMS agencies.

The role balances technical leadership with people management and collaboration across Product, Design, QA, and operations to achieve high performance and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of software engineering experience with at least 3 years in a leadership role.
• Experience leading engineering teams through delivery of complex software products.
• Strong background in software architecture and system design.
• Experience managing engineers, performance reviews, coaching, and engagement.
• Ability to partner with Product and business stakeholders to translate requirements into scalable solutions.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing multiple stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of engineers through coaching, performance management, and career development planning.
• Partner with Product, Design, QA, and stakeholders to deliver high-quality software aligned with business goals.
• Provide technical leadership on architecture, scalability, security, and best practices.
• Drive planning, estimation, prioritization, and execution across the product lifecycle.
• Establish engineering standards, review processes, testing strategies, and operations.

Skills

Engineering Leadership

Team Management

System Design

Software Architecture

Cross-functional Collaboration

Incident Response

Performance Coaching

Leadership & Mentoring

Tools

CI/CD

Observability

Job description

First Due’s mission is to prevent first responder injury or death by providing fire and EMS agencies with transformative, end-to-end software solutions that empower them to run safer, smarter, and more effective operations.

Job Title: Engineering Manager

Location: Remote - US Only
Country: United States
Department: Engineering
Reports To: Director, Engineering
Position Type: Full-Time
Salary: $185,000 + Bonus

Job Summary:

We are seeking an experienced Engineering Manager to lead and develop a team of software engineers while helping shape the technical strategy, delivery execution, and operational excellence of our platform. This role combines strong technical leadership with people management and cross-functional collaboration to ensure teams are delivering scalable, reliable, and customer-focused solutions.

The ideal candidate is an experienced engineering leader who can balance technical direction, team development, and business priorities while fostering a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and high performance.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of engineers through coaching, performance management, career development planning, and regular feedback.
• Partner closely with Product, Design, QA, and other stakeholders to deliver high-quality software solutions aligned with business objectives and customer needs.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance on architecture, system design, scalability, security, and engineering best practices.
• Drive planning, estimation, prioritization, and execution across the full product development lifecycle.
• Leverage AI Software Development practices to implement department SDLC goals and objectives
• Establish and maintain engineering standards, development processes, code review practices, testing strategies, and operational procedures.
• Support teams in identifying and resolving technical challenges, helping unblock complex efforts and facilitate sound engineering decisions.
• Monitor team health, delivery performance, and velocity while continuously improving engineering effectiveness.
• Lead hiring efforts, workforce planning, and onboarding to build and scale high-performing engineering teams.
• Collaborate across distributed teams and stakeholders, ensuring effective communication and alignment across functions and time zones.
• Serve as an escalation point for critical production issues and help coordinate incident response, root cause analysis, and resolution efforts.
• Help establish operational readiness practices, including support models, on-call processes, monitoring, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Contribute to long-term technology strategy and roadmap planning, balancing current business needs with future scalability and innovation.

Qualifications:

• 8+ years of software engineering experience, with at least 3 years in an engineering management, team lead, or technical leadership role.
• Proven experience leading engineering teams through the delivery of complex software products and initiatives.
• Strong background in software architecture, system design, and modern development practices.
• Experience managing engineers through hiring, performance reviews, coaching, career development, and employee engagement.
• Ability to partner effectively with Product and business stakeholders to translate requirements into scalable technical solutions and delivery plans.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and influencing decisions across multiple stakeholders.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to balance technical quality, business priorities, and delivery timelines.
• Experience supporting production environments, incident management processes, and operational excellence practices.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to build team culture, drive accountability, and develop high-performing engineering teams

Preferred Experience

• Experience leading distributed or remote engineering teams.Experience with cloud-based SaaS platforms and modern software development methodologies.
• Experience with modern AI-driven Software Development best practices
• Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, monitoring, and observability practices.
• Experience working in mission-critical or customer-facing software environments.
• Exposure to mobile, web, and/or platform engineering teams.
• Experience evaluating technology investments, architectural tradeoffs, and build-versus-buy decisions.

For US-based Roles

All applicants must be authorized to work for any US employer in the United States. Locality Media LLC is unable to sponsor or transition sponsorship ownership of employment visas at this time. Hiring is contingent upon candidates successfully passing a criminal background check. As part of the I-9 verification of authorization to work in the US, Locality Media participates in E-Verify.

Physical Demands and Work Environment

This role is fully remote with minimal travel expectations at this time. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable qualified employees and applicants to perform the essential functions as outlined above. If you require an accommodation during the interview process, please reach out to [e-mail].

Working at First Due

First Due offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package for eligible employees, including competitive pay, medical, dental, and vision coverage, FSA/HSA, 401(k), flexible PTO, a fully remote workplace, a technology stipend, opportunities for advancement, and other benefits and perks that sets our team apart. Visit www.firstdue.com to learn more.

If you are a resident of a state requiring wage transparency, please reach out to [e-mail] for a reasonable estimate of annual base compensation and any eligible incentive compensation. The actual compensation offered to successful candidates for roles may be higher or lower, based on non-discriminatory criteria including but not limited to relevant professional experience, geographic location, knowledge, skills, and abilities.

This range will be reviewed on a regular basis.

First Due is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in any aspect of employment on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, or any other protected status or class. We are committed to promoting an environment of respect, acceptance, diversity and inclusivity, and equal opportunity. Discrimination and harassment of any type in any form will not be tolerated.