Software Engineering Manager

KION Group; Wauwatosa (WI); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

KION Group AG in Wisconsin seeks a Software Engineering Manager to lead a team delivering warehouse control system software for customer projects. The role blends people leadership, engineering management, and portfolio oversight to ensure successful project execution and customer satisfaction.

You will coach engineers, drive staffing plans, estimates, and risk mitigation while maintaining strong customer relationships. Occasional travel up to 15% is expected for engagements and reviews.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of software engineering experience in industrial automation, warehouse execution/control systems, material handling, or related industries.
• 3+ years of people management or technical leadership experience.
• Experience leading technical teams responsible for software project delivery.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent projects and balancing competing priorities.
• Strong customer-facing communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated experience managing engineering resources, project staffing, and project forecasting through either formal people leadership or project lead responsibilities.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and decision-making skills.
• Demonstrated customer-facing leadership experience, including managing customer expectations, resolving escalations, and building collaborative relationships with project stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead a software engineering organization responsible for designing, developing, testing, and delivering warehouse software solutions.
• Manage staffing and resource allocation across multiple customer projects to meet schedules and commitments.
• Provide guidance on solution architecture reviews, risk mitigation, and execution planning.
• Foster cross-functional collaboration with project management, sales, controls engineering, and customer stakeholders.
• Drive standardization and process improvements to enhance delivery quality and customer satisfaction.

Skills

People leadership

Stakeholder management

Customer-facing communication

Analytical thinking

Decision making

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science / Software Engineering / Engineering

Job description

The Software Engineering Manager leads a team of software engineers responsible for the delivery of Warehouse Control System (WCS) solutions for customer projects. This position combines people leadership, engineering management, and project portfolio oversight to ensure successful project execution, employee development, and customer satisfaction. This role serves as a key customer-facing leader, partnering with internal and external stakeholders to ensure successful project delivery, proactive issue resolution, and a positive customer experience throughout the project lifecycle.

People Leadership Lead

People Leadership Lead, coach, and develop a team of software engineers and technical leaders through performance management, career planning, mentorship, and succession planning activities. Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement. Conduct performance reviews, establish development goals, and provide ongoing coaching and feedback. Partner with Talent Acquisition and engineering leadership to recruit, interview, and hire software engineering talent. Develop future technical and leadership talent through mentoring and growth opportunities. Support workforce planning and organizational development initiatives.

Engineering & Project Portfolio Management

Manage engineering staffing and resource allocation across a portfolio of concurrent customer projects. Balance project priorities, engineering capacity, customer commitments, and organizational objectives. Forecast engineering demand and provide recommendations for staffing and capacity planning. Monitor project labor utilization, budget performance, and engineering execution metrics. Partner with Project Managers, Account Management, Solution Development, and Engineering leadership to ensure successful project delivery. Support project estimation efforts, scope reviews, technical risk assessments, and solution planning activities. Ensure engineering resources are assigned effectively to meet project schedules and customer commitments. Drive continuous improvements in project execution, resource planning, and engineering delivery processes.

Customer & Technical Leadership

Serve as a senior escalation point for customer concerns, project execution challenges, technical risks, and resource conflicts. Provide guidance and support to project teams for complex warehouse software implementations. Collaborate with customers and project stakeholders to resolve issues and maintain strong working relationships. Assist engineering teams in solution architecture reviews, execution planning, troubleshooting, and risk mitigation. Partner with solution development and sales teams to support customer opportunities through technical consultation and engineering estimates. Promote adherence to engineering standards, best practices, and quality expectations across project teams. Build and maintain strong customer relationships by providing leadership, responsiveness, and proactive communication throughout project execution.

What We Are Looking For Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of software engineering experience in industrial automation, warehouse execution/control systems, material handling, or related industries.
• 3+ years of people management or technical leadership experience.
• Experience leading technical teams responsible for software project delivery.
• Experience managing multiple concurrent projects and balancing competing priorities.
• Strong customer-facing communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Demonstrated experience managing engineering resources, project staffing, and project forecasting through either formal people leadership or project lead responsibilities.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, and decision-making skills.
• Demonstrated customer-facing leadership experience, including managing customer expectations, resolving escalations, and building collaborative relationships with project stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience managing/leading teams responsible for WCS, WES, WMS, EMS, or industrial automation software solutions.
• Experience supporting project estimation, solution development, and technical proposal activities.
• Knowledge of software development lifecycle, Agile methodologies, and software delivery best practices.
• Knowledge of material handling systems and warehouse automation technologies.
• Experience leading customer escalations and resolving complex project delivery issues.

Job Specific Details

Lead a software engineering organization supporting the implementation and delivery of warehouse automation software solutions. Manage a team of software engineers responsible for project design, development, testing, deployment, commissioning, and go-live support activities. Oversee staffing and assignment of engineering resources across a portfolio of customer projects ranging from small enhancements to large-scale warehouse implementations. Collaborate with project teams to assess project risks, staffing requirements, schedule impacts, and technical challenges. Review project health and execution metrics to identify opportunities for improvement and proactively mitigate risks. Support project teams with solution architecture reviews, execution strategy development, and issue resolution. Facilitate cross-functional communication between engineering, project management, controls engineering, commissioning, account management, and customer stakeholders. Manage engineering escalations and coordinate resolution of technical, resource, and project execution issues. Provide input into project planning, engineering estimates, budget forecasts, and organizational capacity planning. Drive standardization and process improvements that improve engineering effectiveness, delivery quality, and customer satisfaction. Travel as required to support customer engagements, project reviews, engineering workshops, and critical project milestones (typically up to 15%).

KION brands keep the world moving – globally, regionally, and locally. KION is the Supply Chain Solutions Company. With over 42,000 employees in more than 100 countries, we enable smart, sustainable, and reliable supply chains worldwide - wherever goods are stored, moved, or delivered. KION offers its customers the full spectrum of solutions to make their supply chains future‑ready. Our international brands, Linde Material Handling, STILL, and Baoli and our regional brands, Fenwick and OM, stand for outstanding technological innovation, intelligent automation and service excellence in forklift trucks and warehouse equipment. Dematic complements this expertise with state-of-the-art automation technology and AI-supported software solutions that optimize intralogistics across warehousing, production, and distribution. Whether locally or globally – we offer exciting career opportunities in an innovative environment shaped by our core values: Integrity, Collaboration, Courage, and Excellence. Together, we create the magic of supply chain solutions. Join our team – Push it forward.