Senior Manager, Software Tools Development

Zoox; Foster City, Northern (CA, KY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 225,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Health insurance

Stock options/RSUs

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Long-term care insurance

Bereavement leave

Job summary

Zoox is seeking a Senior Manager of SW Tools Development in Foster City, CA. You will lead engineering teams delivering AI-powered tools and reliable test infrastructure, data pipelines, and automation, while shaping a unified roadmap and engaging stakeholders across the company.

You will demo capabilities to internal customers, grow the portfolio of tools, and ensure scalable, safe, and high-quality delivery. Strong leadership and AI/LLM expertise are essential for success.

Qualifications

• 6–8+ years in software engineering or applied AI with leadership responsibilities.
• Strong practical knowledge of LLMs and applied AI with real-world business solutions.
• Experience designing and shipping production AI agents or automation systems with architecture and validation processes.
• Experience with test infrastructure, data pipelines, and automation improving AI/automation systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow multiple engineering teams spanning AI-powered tools and test infrastructure, data pipelines, and automation.
• Set and drive a unified roadmap balancing AI capabilities with automation and data pipelines.
• Design architecture, quality gates, and release processes to ensure tools are secure and reliable in production.
• Partner with engineering, operations, and business leaders to drive adoption of new tooling across the company.
• Demo and promote the team's tools to internal customers and expand the portfolio of products.
• Improve planning, release management, QA, and reporting to enable scalable tool shipping.

Skills

Software engineering

Applied AI

Leadership

LLMs

Roadmap planning

Cross-functional leadership

Production AI systems

AI tooling

Tools

LLM tooling

Automation frameworks

CI/CD pipelines

Job description

We're looking for a Senior Manager of SW Tools Development to lead an organization built on two closely connected pillars: AI-powered tools and agents, and the test infrastructure, data pipelines, and process automation that engineering and business teams rely on every day. You'll bring deep knowledge of large language models (LLMs) and applied AI, and use it not only to build new AI-driven products but to find where AI can meaningfully upgrade test infrastructure, data pipelines, and automation — the overlap between these areas is where some of your team's highest-leverage work happens. Beyond building the tools, you'll be the face of your organization's products internally — demoing capabilities, winning over new adopters, and growing the portfolio of tools your team owns. You will manage multiple engineering teams (including managers), partner cross-functionally with stakeholders across the business, and build the processes that let your tools ship safely and reliably at scale.

In this role, you will:

• Lead and grow multiple engineering teams spanning AI-powered tools/agents and test infrastructure, data pipelines, and process automation, managing and mentoring managers and senior engineers, and holding your organization accountable for delivery and quality across both areas.
• Set a unified, prioritized roadmap across your organization that balances new AI agent/tool capabilities with test infrastructure, data pipeline, and process automation needs — with a sharp eye for where applying LLMs to automation, pipelines, or test systems creates outsized leverage.
• Design and enforce the architecture, quality gates, and release processes that ensure tools, pipelines, and AI agents are validated, secure, and reliable before reaching production.
• Partner cross-functionally with engineering, operations, and business leadership across the company to align priorities, scope integrations, and drive adoption of new tooling at an organizational level.
• Demo and present your team's tools to internal stakeholders, attract new internal customers, and grow the portfolio of products and use cases your team supports.
• Build and continuously improve the processes (planning, release management, quality assurance, reporting) that let your organization ship tools predictably and at scale.

Qualifications:

• 6-8+ years of experience in software engineering or applied AI, including experience managing managers and/or multiple engineering teams, with accountability for delivery and quality across an organization.
• Solid, practical knowledge of LLMs and applied AI, with experience identifying and delivering AI-driven solutions to real business problems.
• Experience designing and shipping production AI agent or automation systems, including defining architecture, tool/integration contracts, and validation processes.
• Experience with test infrastructure, data pipeline design, and process automation, including recognizing where AI/LLM techniques can improve or extend these systems.
• Proven track record leading cross-functional programs and presenting to senior stakeholders, aligning priorities and driving adoption across teams and functions that don\'t report to you.

Bonus Qualifications:

• Experience operating AI-driven automation or triage tools in production with measurable quality/accuracy metrics.
• Background in complex, safety-critical, or high-uptime operational environments.
• Experience managing distributed or contractor engineering teams.

$180,000 - $225,000 a year

Base Salary Range

There are three major components to compensation for this position: salary, Amazon Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), and Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights. A sign-on bonus may be offered as part of the compensation package. The listed range applies only to the base salary. Compensation will vary based on geographic location and level. Leveling, as well as positioning within a level, is determined by a range of factors, including, but not limited to, a candidate\'s relevant years of experience, domain knowledge, and interview performance. The salary range listed in this posting is representative of the range of levels Zoox is considering for this position.

Zoox also offers a comprehensive package of benefits, including paid time off (e.g. sick leave, vacation, bereavement), unpaid time off, Zoox Stock Appreciation Rights, Amazon RSUs, health insurance, long-term care insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance, and life insurance.