Manager - C++ Software Engineer

The Judge Group, INC.; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

The Judge Group, INC. is seeking a Software Engineering Manager to lead a hands-on, high-velocity team responsible for large-scale, highly available platforms.

You will mentor engineers while actively contributing to architecture, coding, and technical problem solving. Ideal candidates bring 5+ years in software engineering with progressive leadership, strong C/C++, distributed systems expertise, and a track record of delivering mission-critical software in fast-paced environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of software engineering with increasing technical responsibility.
• Experience managing and mentoring software engineers.
• Strong hands-on development with C/C++.
• Deep understanding of software architecture and distributed systems.
• Experience building mission-critical, highly available systems.
• Strong DB design and data modeling experience.
• Experience with SDLC, Agile methodologies, and best practices.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 5-8 software engineers.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Operations to define requirements and plans.
• Drive Agile practices and ensure successful delivery of initiatives.
• Conduct performance management, career development, coaching, and hiring.
• Provide architectural guidance and technical direction across the SDLC.
• Review designs and implementations; ensure scalability, reliability, and performance.
• Remain hands-on in design, coding, reviews, troubleshooting, and problem solving.
• Lead lifecycle from architecture to deployment and support.
• Collaborate with global teams and champion continuous improvement.

Skills

People leadership

Hands-on coding

C/C++

Distributed systems

Architecture design

Agile methodologies

Problem solving

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field

Job description

Software Engineering Manager (Hands-On Technical Leader)

Direct Hire/W2 only/sponsorship not available

Hybrid - Chicago

Overview

We are seeking a highly motivated Software Engineering Manager to lead a team of talented engineers responsible for designing, building, and supporting large-scale, high-availability software platforms. This role combines people leadership, technical ownership, and hands-on software development, making it ideal for leaders who enjoy mentoring teams while remaining actively engaged in architecture, coding, and technical problem solving.

The ideal candidate has experience managing engineering teams, developing distributed systems, and delivering mission-critical software in a fast-paced environment.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership & Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 5-8 software engineers.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Operations stakeholders to define technical requirements and execution plans.
• Drive Agile development practices and ensure successful delivery of engineering initiatives.
• Conduct performance management, career development, coaching, and hiring activities.

Technical Leadership

• Provide architectural guidance and technical direction throughout the software development lifecycle.
• Review and approve software designs, technical approaches, and implementation strategies.
• Drive engineering best practices around scalability, reliability, performance, testing, and maintainability.
• Present and defend architectural decisions to technical and business stakeholders.
• Evaluate emerging technologies and identify opportunities for process and platform improvements.

Hands-On Development

• Remain actively involved in software design, coding, code reviews, troubleshooting, and technical problem-solving.
• Lead the development lifecycle including architecture, prototyping, implementation, testing, deployment, and support.
• Produce and review technical specifications and design documentation.
• Support software releases, upgrades, and production deployments.
• Contribute to complex development efforts and critical technical initiatives as needed.

Platform Support & Innovation

• Lead investigation and resolution of production issues.
• Ensure system stability, scalability, and operational excellence.
• Collaborate with global engineering teams to share knowledge and drive innovation.
• Champion continuous improvement initiatives across tools, processes, and engineering practices.
• Explore and leverage emerging technologies, including AI-assisted software development practices.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of software engineering experience with increasing technical responsibility.
• Prior experience managing and mentoring software engineers.
• Strong hands-on development experience with C/C++.
• Deep understanding of software architecture, distributed systems, and large-scale application development.
• Experience designing and building mission-critical, highly available systems.
• Strong database design and data modeling experience.
• Experience with network programming and performance optimization.
• Solid understanding of SDLC, Agile methodologies, and software engineering best practices.
• Excellent problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Golang.
• Experience building high-throughput, low-latency distributed platforms.
• Exposure to cloud-native architectures and modern infrastructure technologies.
• Familiarity with AI-assisted development tools and Agentic AI concepts within the SDLC.
• Experience supporting large-scale transaction processing platforms.
• Background in digital media, advertising technology, streaming, or high-volume online platforms.

What We're Looking For

• A leader who enjoys balancing engineering management and hands-on development.
• Someone who can guide technical strategy while still contributing code and solving complex engineering challenges.
• A collaborative manager who excels at mentoring engineers and building high-performing teams.
• A technically curious professional with a passion for innovation, scalability, and continuous learning.

This is a highly visible leadership role for a hands-on engineering manager who wants to influence architecture, grow engineering talent, and help build scalable software platforms that operate at significant scale.

#ITEngineering