Software Engineering Manager II

General Atomics and Affiliated Companies; California (MO); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. is seeking a Software Engineering Manager to lead a team of engineers, improve Agile practices, and enhance software quality and delivery processes.

You will drive cross-functional collaboration with DevOps, architects, and senior engineers while shaping the SDLC and technical strategy. Ideal candidates bring a strong software engineering foundation, proven leadership, and experience with SAFe/PI Planning, CI/CD, and containerized environments.

Qualifications

• Typically requires education or formal training equivalent to the completion of a Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering or related discipline and six or more years progressively complex experience.
• Experience leading software engineering teams or serving as a technical leader.
• Strong understanding of Agile methodologies; SAFe and PI Planning experience preferred.
• Strong understanding of the Software Development Lifecycle.
• Experience improving software delivery processes and engineering practices.
• Familiarity with CI/CD concepts, source control, branching strategies, automated testing, and containerized software environments.
• Experience with tools such as Jira, confluence, and GitLab.
• Strong communication, coaching, and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret Clearance is required.

Responsibilities

• People Leadership: Hire, mentor, coach, and develop software engineers; support career growth and guidance; build a high-performing team; establish engineering best practices.
• Engineering Execution: Lead Agile execution, PI Planning, improve predictability, coordinate cross-team dependencies, remove blockers, refine SDLC practices.
• Software Delivery and Quality: Partner with DevOps to improve development, testing, and release processes; define testing strategies; coordinate releases; improve quality metrics.
• Technical Leadership: Maintain depth to understand architecture, development practices, source control, CI/CD, and containerized environments; collaborate with architects, engineers, and DevOps; guide technical decisions.

Skills

People leadership

Agile methodologies

Strong communication

Cross-functional leadership

Coaching & mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Software Engineering or related field

Tools

Jira

Confluence

GitLab

Job description

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is a world leader in proven, reliable remotely piloted aircraft and tactical reconnaissance radars, as well as advanced high-resolution surveillance systems.

The Software Engineering Manager will lead a team of software engineers while driving improvements in engineering execution, Agile practices, software quality, and delivery processes. This role requires a strong software engineering foundation, excellent people leadership skills, and the ability to improve how teams plan, develop, test, and deliver software.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• People Leadership
• Hire, mentor, coach, and develop software engineers.
• Support career growth and provide technical and professional guidance.
• Build a high-performing engineering team.
• Establish engineering best practices and a culture of continuous improvement.

Engineering Execution

• Lead Agile execution and support PI Planning activities.
• Improve predictability of software delivery.
• Coordinate cross-team dependencies and execution risks.
• Remove process and technical blockers affecting delivery.
• Improve SDLC practices and engineering workflows.

Software Delivery and Quality

• Partner with DevOps to improve software development, testing, and release processes.
• Define and improve testing strategies.
• Coordinate release readiness activities.
• Improve engineering quality metrics.
• Support build validation and integration processes.

Technical Leadership

• Maintain enough technical depth to understand software architecture, development practices, source control, builds, CI/CD concepts, and containerized application environments.
• Partner with architects, senior engineers, and DevOps teams.
• Help teams make effective technical decisions and improve engineering effectiveness.

We recognize and appreciate the value and contributions of individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences and welcome all qualified individuals to apply.

Job Qualifications

• Typically requires education or formal training equivalent to the completion of a Bachelors degree in Software Engineering or related discipline and six or more years progressively complex experience. Additional professional experience may be substituted in lieu of education.
• Experience leading software engineering teams or serving as a technical leader.
• Strong understanding of Agile methodologies; SAFe and PI Planning experience preferred.
• Strong understanding of the Software Development Lifecycle.
• Experience improving software delivery processes and engineering practices.
• Familiarity with CI/CD concepts, source control, branching strategies, automated testing, and containerized software environments.
• Experience with tools such as Jira, confluence, and GitLab.
• Strong communication, coaching, and cross-functional leadership skills.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret Clearance is required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience as a Software Engineer, Senior SDET, Systems Engineer, or Technical Lead.
• Experience managing teams developing containerized applications.
• Experience defining engineering metrics and operational KPIs.
• Experience driving continuous improvement within software engineering organizations.