Software Engineering Manager

QMD Scientific; Sandy Springs (GA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

QMD Scientific is seeking an Software Engineering Manager to lead by coaching and development rather than command. You will own HR accountability, performance reviews, and career growth for engineers in a mature Agile environment.

The role emphasizes developing junior engineers into senior contributors, conducting structured 1:1s, and maintaining a strong engineering culture with a focus on quality, feedback, and transparent progression.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of software engineering experience with direct people management.
• 2+ years of formal people management with HR accountability.
• Proven ability to conduct structured 1:1 coaching and give developmental feedback.
• Experience designing career ladders and leveling engineers.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management in Agile environments.

Responsibilities

• Conduct structured, high-quality 1:1s with every direct report focused on growth.
• Develop individualized development plans and map skill gaps to career goals.
• Own the full engineering performance review cycle with evidence-based assessments.
• Lead compensation discussions and partner with HR on leveling decisions.
• Maintain code review culture, define quality standards, and manage tech debt visibility.
• Foster a psychologically safe, cross-team collaborative environment.

Skills

People management

Coaching

Agile / Scrum

Performance reviews

Communication

Job description

We are looking for a Software Engineering Manager who leads through coaching, not commanding. In our Agile organization, delivery planning, sprint execution, and cross-functional coordination are owned by our Technical Project Manager and Scrum Master. Your job is different: and more important. You are the person responsible for who our engineers become.

This is a full people-management role with HR accountability. You will own performance evaluations, skills assessments, career development plans, compensation recommendations, and the disciplinary and recognition conversations that shape how your team grows. You will set and enforce engineering quality standards, run a rigorous 1:1 and feedback cadence, and build the kind of psychologically safe environment where engineers do the best work of their careers.

The ideal candidate has walked the path themselves; you were a strong individual contributor who made the deliberate choice to invest in people over code. You understand what it takes to develop a junior engineer into a senior one, and you know how to have a hard performance conversation without destroying trust. You are energized, not drained, by the human complexity of this work.

THIS IS A PEOPLE MANAGER ROLE, NOT A PROJECT MANAGER ROLE

We operate in a mature Agile environment where the Technical Project Manager and Scrum Master own delivery planning, sprint ceremonies, and cross-functional coordination. The Engineering Manager's job is not to plan the work; it is to develop the people who do the work.

If you define your success by the number of tickets closed or milestones hit, this role is not for you. If you define your success by the growth of your engineers, the quality of your team's craft, and the health of your engineering culture. Read on.

WHAT THIS ROLE IS AND IS NOT

This Role IS

• A talent development & coaching engine
• Responsible for career growth of engineers
• A servant leader who removes obstacles
• Owner of engineering quality & craft standards
• Accountable for HR, evals & performance
• A coach who develops through feedback & trust

This Role IS NOT

• A project tracker or delivery coordinator
• Responsible for sprint ceremonies or standups
• A gatekeeper who approves tasks
• A resource assigned to a feature team
• Someone who avoids hard conversations
• A commander who directs work top-down

FOUR PILLARS OF OWNERSHIP

• Individual growth plans for every direct report
• Strengths-based coaching and skill gap identification
• Career pathing from junior to principal levels
• Mentorship pairing and learning investment

Performance & HR

• Engineering evaluations and performance reviews
• Skills assessments and leveling decisions
• PIP design and disciplinary documentation
• Compensation review and promotion recommendations
• Code review culture and quality bar ownership
• Technical best practices and documentation standards
• Definition of Done governance across teams
• Architecture pattern consistency and tech debt visibility

Culture & Psychological Safety

• Inclusive, blameless team environment
• Cross-team collaboration and knowledge sharing
• Recognition, retention, and team morale ownership

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

People Development & Coaching

• Conduct structured, high-quality 1:1s with every direct report — not status updates, but genuine coaching conversations focused on growth, challenges, and career trajectory.
• Build and maintain individualized development plans (IDPs) for each engineer, mapping near-term skill gaps to long-term career goals with concrete, actionable milestones.
• Identify each engineer's current level against the engineering career ladder and actively work to develop the skills needed to advance to the next level.
• Pair engineers with mentors, learning resources, and stretch assignments that accelerate growth without sacrificing delivery quality.

Performance Management & HR Accountability

• Own the full engineering performance review cycle — from mid-year check-ins through annual evaluations — producing written assessments that are specific, evidence-based, and growth-oriented.
• Design and administer skills assessments and technical competency evaluations to establish a clear, objective picture of each engineer's capabilities relative to their level.
• Lead compensation review conversations, build promotion cases, and partner with HR and leadership on leveling decisions with data-backed justification.
• Manage performance improvement plans (PIPs), disciplinary conversations, and — when necessary — separation processes with professionalism, empathy, and full compliance with HR policies.
• Maintain accurate, timely HR documentation; proactively flag retention risks and compensation concerns before they become attrition.

Engineering Craft & Quality Standards

• Own the engineering quality bar for your team — define and maintain standards for code review, testing, documentation, and technical design; lead by example when standards are not being met.
• Foster a culture of constructive, thorough code review — not just approval theater, but genuine craft investment that accelerates the growth of reviewers and reviewees alike.
• Surface and advocate for technical debt remediation; work with the TPM and product leadership to ensure tech debt has visibility and a realistic remediation path.
• Partner with the engineering organization to maintain consistency in architectural patterns, tooling choices, and development practices across teams.

Team Health, Culture & Retention

• Build and protect a psychologically safe team environment where engineers feel secure raising concerns, admitting mistakes, and proposing bold ideas without fear of retribution.
• Run skip-level conversations and pulse checks to stay connected to team sentiment beneath the surface; act quickly on signals of disengagement or interpersonal friction.
• Actively participate in recruiting and hiring — define the technical bar, conduct structured interviews, and build a diverse pipeline of engineering talent.
• Recognize and celebrate engineering contributions meaningfully and specifically; model the team culture you want by living it yourself.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• 5+ years of software engineering experience as an individual contributor, with sufficient technical depth to assess code quality, provide credible technical guidance, and earn the respect of senior engineers.
• 2+ years of formal people management experience with direct HR accountability — not just tech lead or project lead, but a role where you owned performance reviews, had hiring and firing authority, and were accountable for the growth of your reports.
• Demonstrated experience running structured 1:1 programs, giving actionable developmental feedback, and producing written performance evaluations that drive real behavior change.
• Proven ability to design or administer skills assessments and career-level frameworks — experience building, adapting, or rigorously applying an engineering career ladder is a strong indicator.
• Hands‑on experience managing a performance improvement plan or a difficult termination — with evidence that you can conduct these conversations professionally, fairly, and with documented precision.
• Deep familiarity with Agile environments — not as a delivery manager but as a manager embedded in an Agile organization who understands how to support engineers within sprint‑based, self‑organizing team structures.
• Strong technical literacy across modern software development: code review practices, testing standards, system design fundamentals, CI/CD pipelines, and tech debt management.
• Exceptional interpersonal and written communication skills — you write performance reviews people find useful, give feedback people actually hear, and facilitate difficult conversations with precision and care.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Strong Plus —

Prior management experience in MedTech, Pharmaceuticals, Clinical Research, or Healthcare IT is a significant differentiator. Understanding of how regulated environments — HIPAA, GDPR, CCAA, and SOC2 — shape engineering culture and quality expectations is highly valued.

• Experience building or evolving an engineering career ladder from scratch — defining levels, competencies, and the evidence standards used to assess promotion readiness.
• Background as a former engineer in Python, cloud infrastructure, data platforms, or full‑stack development — aligning with the technical profile of the team you will manage.
• Experience managing teams that span multiple seniority levels simultaneously (junior through senior/staff), with demonstrated ability to calibrate coaching style to the individual.
• Familiarity with engineering metrics and team health measurement — cycle time, PR review latency, DORA metrics, or similar signals used to assess delivery health and code quality.
• Experience contributing to or leading engineering hiring processes — defining interview frameworks, calibrating technical bars across interviewers, and reducing bias in hiring decisions.
• Coaching certification or formal training in management frameworks (e.g., Radical Candor, Manager Tools, situational leadership) is a plus but not required.