Software Development Manager

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc; Westbrook (ME); On-site; USD 117,000 - 143,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health / Dental / Vision Benefits Day-One

5% matching 401k

Annual cash bonus opportunity

Pet insurance

Mental health resources

Additional financial support

Job summary

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc is looking for a Software Development Manager to lead an agile engineering team focusing on veterinary software solutions. The role involves managing delivery quality while contributing to design discussions and overall technical direction.

Key qualifications include strong leadership skills, hands-on technical experience, and the ability to effectively communicate across functions. A competitive salary starting at $130,000 is offered, alongside health benefits and an opportunity for annual bonuses.

Qualifications

• Managed engineers and enjoy growing team members.
• Set clear goals, sequence work, and deliver commitments.
• Ability to translate technical subject matter for non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead an agile engineering team, managing delivery and quality.
• Drive product strategy into achievable milestones.
• Contribute to design discussions and code reviews.

Skills

People leadership experience

Drive and ownership

Excellent communication skills

Strong product partnership instincts

Hands-on technical background

Full web application stack knowledge

Experience with PHP, Node.js

Experience with system architectures

Knowledge of SQL and ORM frameworks

Familiarity with AI-powered coding assistants

Knowledge of agile methodologies

Hiring experience

Balance competing priorities

General business knowledge

Tools

Jenkins

GitHub Actions

Job description

We are seeking a Software Development Manager. This position focuses on software solutions, we are dedicated to enhancing the health and well‑being of pets, people, and livestock around the world. Through the power of the cloud, our solutions simplify the flow of information across any practice and link vets to what they need when they need it. Patient data. Client communications. Business insights. All at their fingertips.

Why this role matters:

You will be working with Neo, a cloud‑based Veterinary Practice Management Software, and one of IDEXX's wider veterinary offerings. Running a veterinary practice is complicated. The software shouldn't be. Neo is a brilliantly simple practice management software with the flexibility of the cloud. Pets and tech, it's a winning combo! Within IDEXX we are part of the IDEXX Veterinary Software portfolio.

In this Role You will:

• Lead a small, highly effective agile engineering team (typically 3-5 developers), owning the team's delivery, quality, and overall health.

• Manage and develop the engineers on your team - running regular 1:1s, setting clear expectations, giving honest and timely feedback, supporting career growth, and conducting performance reviews.

• Hire, onboard, and retain strong engineering talent, building a team that reflects a culture of inclusion, high standards, and continuous learning.

• Drive results - translating product strategy into a clear delivery plan, breaking work into achievable milestones, removing blockers, and holding the team accountable for committed outcomes.

• Partner closely with product owners and product management to shape priorities, scope, and trade‑offs that balance customer value, technical health, and delivery speed.

• Remain hands‑on - contributing meaningfully to design discussions, code reviews, prototypes, and complex problem solving across the full web application stack (typically around 30-50% of your time).

• Lead technical discussions and decisions, influencing architecture and design across your team and across squads.

• Plan, document, and communicate technical projects - including status, risks, and key decisions - to engineering peers, product partners, and senior leadership.

• Collaborate with DevOps and other technical teams to plan, build, and release high‑quality software, and to streamline CI/CD workflows using tools such as Jenkins and GitHub Actions.

• Leverage AI‑assisted development tools (e.g., LLM‑based coding assistants and agents) to improve your team's velocity, code quality, and design exploration - and help establish responsible, effective patterns of use.

• Be accountable for the operational health of your team's systems, working with the team to triage and resolve build failures, deployment errors, production incidents, and pipeline issues as they arise.

• Foster a culture of innovation, inclusion, psychological safety, and thoughtful risk‑taking - building an environment where engineers do their best work.

What you need to succeed:

• People leadership experience - you have managed or led engineers (as a formal manager, team lead, or equivalent) and genuinely enjoy growing the people on your team.

• Drive, ownership, and a strong results orientation - you set clear goals, sequence work, and deliver on commitments without sacrificing quality.

• Excellent analytical, verbal, and written communication skills, including the ability to translate technical subject matter for non‑technical audiences and to listen carefully across functions.

• Strong product partnership instincts - you collaborate closely with product owners, ask the right questions, and help shape outcomes rather than just executing on tickets.

• Solid hands‑on technical background as a software engineer, with the ability to remain credible in design and code reviews and to contribute directly when needed.

• Strong full web application stack knowledge and a solid understanding of technologies from the database to the presentation tier.

• Experience with PHP, Node.js, and/or other object‑oriented and procedural programming languages, AWS Platform, REST APIs, and data modeling.

• Experience designing system architectures and coordinating teams to design, code, test, and document significant system changes.

• Knowledge of relational databases and Structured Query Language (SQL), and experience with Object‑Relational Mapping (ORM) frameworks.

• Familiarity with AI‑powered coding assistants and agents (e.g., Cursor or similar) and a clear understanding of their strengths, limitations, and failure modes.

• Strong knowledge of the software development lifecycle, agile methodologies, and modern CI/CD practices using tools such as Jenkins and GitHub Actions.

• Hiring experience and a high bar for engineering talent - you can identify, attract, and develop strong engineers.

• Ability to balance competing priorities across people, delivery, and technical health, and to make pragmatic trade‑offs in ambiguous situations.

• Strong general business and company knowledge, with the ability to connect engineering work back to customer and business outcomes.

What you can expect from us:

• Base salary range starting at $130,000 based on experience

• Opportunity for annual cash bonus

• Health / Dental / Vision Benefits Day‑One

• 5% matching 401k

• Additional benefits including but not limited to financial support, pet insurance, mental health resources, volunteer paid days off, employee stock program, foundation donation matching, and much more

Why IDEXX:

We're proud of the work we do, because our work matters. An innovation leader in every industry we serve since 1983, our team members help pet owners worldwide keep their companion animals healthy and happy, ensure safe drinking water for billions, and help farmers protect livestock and poultry from disease. We have customers in over 175 countries and a collaborative global workforce. Our culture embraces challenges and encourages learning and discovery. At IDEXX, you'll be supported by competitive compensation, incentives, and benefits while enjoying purposeful work that drives improvement. If meaningful work and a sense of purpose are at the top of your list, you'll find it here. Let's pursue what matters together.

IDEXX values a diverse workforce and workplace and strongly encourages women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign‑born residents, and veterans to apply. IDEXX is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, religion, national origin, citizenship status, disability, ancestry, marital status, veteran status, medical condition, or any protected category prohibited by local, state, or federal laws.