Senior Manager, Engineering – Restaurant Technology

Wingstop Restaurants Inc.; Dallas (TX); On-site; USD 130,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited paid time off

Paid volunteer day

Health savings account options

Job summary

Wingstop Restaurants Inc. is looking for a Sr Manager, Engineering to lead systems development in restaurant technology. This role will oversee POS systems, foster a high-performing engineering team, and ensure system scalability and performance.

The ideal candidate has extensive software engineering experience, a background in restaurant technology, and strong leadership skills. Benefits include unlimited paid time off, competitive bonuses, and comprehensive health coverage.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• 2+ years of engineering management experience.
• Strong experience in restaurant POS or hospitality technology.

Responsibilities

• Manage and grow a team of software engineers.
• Be accountable for delivery and performance of restaurant technology systems.
• Drive modernization initiatives toward next-generation platforms.

Skills

Leadership

Software engineering

Collaboration

Problem-solving

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Engineering

Tools

AWS

NCR POS systems

Job description

Overview

Who We Are
We’re not in the wing business. We’re in the flavor business. It’s been our mission to Serve the World Flavor since we first opened in 1994, and we’re just getting started. 1997 saw the opening of our first brand partner operated Wingstop location, and by 2002 we had served the world one billion wings. It’s flavor that defines us and has made Wingstop one of the fastest growing brands in the restaurant industry.

Above all else – our success is largely due to our people and our core values, or what we call The Wingstop Way of being entrepreneurial, service-minded, fun, and authentic. We believe having a strong people foundation centered on these collective values creates a crave-worthy culture and talented team, as well as ensures our brand is poised for accelerated growth. We all win together.

What We’ll Need

Wingstop is seeking a strong, results-oriented Sr Manager, Engineering within our Restaurant Technology space to lead the development and evolution of systems supporting in-restaurant operations, including POS (NCR), back-office (NBO), and Smart Kitchen systems (KDS).

You will play a key role in translating business and operational objectives into technical solutions, improving system performance, and driving platform evolution across a complex, high-transaction environment.

This role is responsible for leading engineering efforts that focus on scalability, integration, usability, and long-term platform sustainability across restaurant systems. You will also be instrumental in building and mentoring a high-performing engineering team, attracting top talent, and ensuring that Wingstop’s restaurant technology continues to evolve in alignment with business growth.

Role Responsibilities

• Manage and grow a team of software engineers, including providing guidance on career progression, planning, and continuous development
• Be accountable for delivery, deployment, and performance of restaurant technology systems
• Strategically plan and prioritize engineering initiatives, balancing new capabilities, platform improvements, and technical debt
• Communicate with stakeholders, product partners, operations teams, and vendors to deliver solutions aligned with business priorities
• Guide the team in design, architecture, implementation, testing, and monitoring, ensuring scalable and maintainable systems
• Establish and enforce engineering best practices, coding standards, release quality controls, and operational guidelines
• Participate in architecture reviews and provide hands-on technical leadership where needed
• Drive modernization initiatives, including transformation of back-of-house systems and evolution toward next-generation POS and restaurant technology platforms
• Create and manage a backlog of technical debt, platform enhancements, and long-term engineering improvements
• Develop internal tools, automation, and integrations that improve operational efficiency and system visibility
• Partner with vendors including NCR, KDS vendors, device providers, and related restaurant hardware partners to ensure performance and integration quality
• Foster a collaborative and high-performing engineering culture focused on ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement
• Lead hiring, onboarding, and development of engineering talent, including performance management and career growth
• Drive innovation through proofs of concept and adoption of modern technologies, including cloud-native architectures and AI-driven capabilities such as voice ordering, chat experiences, computer vision, and intelligent automation

What You’ll Need

Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field (or equivalent practical experience)

Certifications

• Cloud certifications (AWS preferred) are a plus

Tools & Technical Experience

• 12+ years of professional software engineering experience, including leadership roles
• 2+ years of engineering management experience with a proven track record of delivery and talent development
• Strong experience in restaurant POS, retail store systems, hospitality technology, or similar multi-location operating environments
• Experience working with NCR is preferred, with strong consideration for candidates who have experience with other POS platforms and next-generation POS or restaurant technology transformations
• Experience building modern products and platforms using APIs, microservices, cloud-native architectures, and event-driven integration patterns
• Experience guiding teams that work across frontend, backend, and integration layers; hands-on knowledge of modern engineering practices is expected
• Experience designing and operating systems in AWS or comparable cloud environments
• Experience with CI/CD, infrastructure automation, release management, and secure software delivery practices
• Experience with monitoring, observability, and production support practices across business-critical systems
• Familiarity with messaging technologies, distributed caching, and scalable data platforms is a plus
• Familiarity with PCI-sensitive or regulated transaction environments
• Exposure to AI/ML-driven systems, voice interfaces, chat-based experiences, computer vision, or intelligent automation use cases is a plus
• Strong written and verbal communication, presentation, problem-solving, and analytical skills
• Experience working in Agile environments such as Scrum, Kanban, or SAFe

People Skills

• Strong cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management skills
• Ability to translate operational business requirements into scalable system design
• High ownership and accountability mindset
• Commitment to engineering excellence, sound technical judgment, and practical execution
• Ability to operate as a hands-on engineering leader who can build teams and proactively drive solutions

Who You Are

No job is too small. You recognize that the real work happens in the restaurants, and everything we do should support their success. You stay humble, roll up your sleeves, and always look for ways to help. You learn from others and contribute wherever you can.

You care deeply about doing great work and driving results. You’re curious, ask questions, and seek out opportunities to improve. You don’t just point out problems—you bring solutions, ideas, and perspectives that move the team forward.

You take full responsibility for your work and see things through to completion. You aren’t afraid to fail because you know that failure is a part of learning and growth. You take action, move fast, and keep pushing forward.

You lead with empathy, respect, and emotional intelligence. You collaborate effectively, fostering a culture of trust and constructive feedback. You understand the importance of teamwork and ensure that your actions build others up rather than break them down.

You push yourself and others to be better. You embrace healthy conflict, knowing that great ideas and strong teams emerge from honest, constructive conversations. You believe that leaders create leaders and are committed to fostering a culture of growth, challenge, and continuous improvement.

Benefits

FLAVOR PERKS:

• Unlimited paid time off for exempt employees
• One paid volunteer day of your choice
• Competitive bonus structure for eligible roles
• Team member stock purchase plan
• Health savings or flexible spending account options
• 401k – (dollar for dollar on the first 3% and then 50 cents on the dollar for the next 2% for team member contributions up to 5% of eligible compensation)
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits
• Basic life and AD&D insurance provided
• Pet insurance
• Education Assistance
• Wellness reimbursement program
• Paid maternity and paternity leave

Fun Is The Best Flavor

• Lunch provided every Tuesday and Thursday in office
• Discount on Wingstop gift cards
• Onsite game room

Wingstop provides equal opportunities for everyone that works for us and everyone that applies to join our team, without regard to sex or gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, any service, past, present, or future, in the uniformed services of the United States (military or veteran status), or any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local law.