Senior Software Engineering Manager

Madrona Venture Labs; Kirkland (WA); On-site; USD 164,594 - 246,788; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

RSU (Restricted Stock Units)

Fully-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance

Mental Health coverage

Flexible PTO

401(k) match

Pet Insurance

Job summary

Madrona Venture Labs in Kirkland is looking for a Senior Engineering Manager who excels in ambiguity and is passionate about building effective teams. The successful candidate will guide teams in delivering mission-critical capabilities while ensuring seamless system integration through thoughtful design and intuitive APIs.

The role involves leading a technical team, owning the delivery process, and ensuring high performance. Candidates should have a solid track record in engineering management, deep technical knowledge, and a commitment to operational excellence.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years of engineering management experience.
• Proven track record of hiring and managing technical teams.
• Deep technical background driving innovation across applications.

Responsibilities

• Lead recruitment and onboarding of a technical team.
• Own end-to-end delivery process from requirements to delivery.
• Drive system design for real-world environments.

Skills

Team Scaling & Leadership

Strong Technical Foundation

Architectural Depth

Customer-Centric Delivery

System Scaling

Operational Excellence

Tools

Rust

React

Python

Job description

Radar Reinvented.

Echodyne offers the world's first compact solid‑state true beam‑steering radar for a wide range of industries and applications. Our high‑performance radars work in all weather and are designed for autonomous vehicles, uncrewed aircraft & drones, and security of borders, critical infrastructure, and smart cities. The company combines the patented technology of metamaterials with powerful software to create a radar sensor with unprecedented performance at commercial price points. Echodyne offers its radars to companies working in Automotive, Transportation, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Border Security, Smart Cities, Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), and Airspace Management including Urban Air Mobility (UTM).

Echodyne is seeking a high‑caliber, product‑minded Senior Engineering Manager who thrives in ambiguity and moves fast to build with real‑world users in mind.

ROLE OVERVIEW

Our ideal candidate turns loosely defined problems into structured execution, guiding teams to deliver mission‑critical capabilities under tight timelines. You should possess a strong technical foundation that allows you to shepherd innovation while ensuring systems integrate seamlessly into the ecosystem through thoughtful design and intuitive APIs. Most importantly, we need a builder of teams—someone dedicated to hiring top talent and fostering a culture of high performance and direct feedback. This role reports to the VP, Software & Firmware Engineering.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Build & Grow: Directly lead the recruitment and onboarding of a technical team designed to support a fast‑growing organization.
• Drive Execution: Own the end‑to‑end delivery process (requirements → design → execution → delivery) and ensure the team meets its commitments to the business and the customer.
• Shepherd Innovation: Drive system design for real‑world environments—addressing edge deployment, security, and reliability—to ensure durability and high performance.
• Connect with the Field: Build end‑to‑end systems used in real missions, ensuring that field‑user feedback is integrated into the technical roadmap.

REQUIRED SKILLS / EXPERIENCE

• Team Scaling & Leadership: At least 5 years of engineering management experience with a proven track record of hiring, managing, and scaling high‑performance technical teams. You have a passion for developing engineers through active mentorship, coaching, and career growth.
• Strong Technical Foundation: Deep technical background with the ability to drive innovation across a tiered application stack. You should be familiar with modern programming languages and frameworks such as Rust, React, and Python.
• Architectural Depth: Solid understanding of software architecture composed of front‑end, middleware, and complex integrations with external systems.
• Customer‑Centric Delivery: Extensive experience working in companies focused on delivering customer‑facing products. You have a clear history of taking ownership of the full lifecycle—from planning through delivery—ensuring software meets strict commitments.
• System Scaling: Direct experience building and scaling highly available, mission‑critical systems.
• Operational Excellence: Experience elevating engineering standards, including design clarity, code quality, and pragmatic development practices.

DESIRED SKILLS / EXPERIENCE (Looking for one or more as a complement to the core skills)

• Hiring Excellence: A clear and repeatable track record of identifying and recruiting technical talent in rapid‑growth or R&D (0 → 1) environments.
• Strategic Execution: A strong bias toward action combined with sound engineering judgment; you operate with high autonomy and a relentless focus on outcomes.
• Cross‑Functional Leadership: Comfortable leading and collaborating across diverse disciplines, including research, hardware, software, and data science.
• Impact‑Driven Mindset: You lead with a low‑ego, high‑ownership approach, prioritizing the mission and the user above all else.

Echodyne’s technology is export controlled by the U.S. Government and we must evaluate an applicant’s eligibility to handle export‑controlled information or obtain required Government authorizations. Therefore, we will ask you as part of the application process to identify whether you are a U.S. Citizen or green card holder, or have asylum/refugee status in the U.S.

WHAT WE OFFER

This is an exempt role.

The expected annual salary range for this role is $164,594 — $246,788 USD.

If your skills generally align but not perfectly, please apply anyway. There may be another role that’s a great fit for you!

We offer competitive compensation and benefits to our full‑time, US‑based employees, including:

• RSU (Restricted Stock Units)
• Generous Benefits:
  • Fully‑paid medical, dental, and vision insurance premiums for you
    • Choice of PPO or HDHP/HSA
    • Virtual Care – 98Point6
    • Employee Assistance Program
• Mental Health coverage through Springhealth & Talkspace (Premera)
• Travel Assistance Insurance
• Company Paid Life Insurance
• Company Paid Short & Long Term Disability
• Flexible PTO (exempt) / 15 days per year (non‑exempt)
• 401(k) match
• Pet Insurance