Software Engineering Manager (Java)

Allstate Insurance; Illinois; On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Allstate Insurance in Illinois is seeking an engineering leader to guide multiple agile teams building the next generation of backend services for claims operations. You will mentor engineers, shape technical direction, and partner with product, architecture, security, and business stakeholders to deliver secure, scalable solutions.

You will drive delivery commitments, champion modern engineering practices, and foster a high‑performing culture focused on operational excellence, observability,

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading multiple agile software teams.
• Strong background in backend services architecture and delivery.
• Experience coaching engineers toward high performance and growth.

Responsibilities

• Leads and mentors software engineering teams to deliver scalable backend claims solutions.
• Partners with product, architecture, security, and business leaders to set technical direction.
• Ensures operational excellence, testing discipline, and DevOps practices.
• Drives delivery commitments and removal of impediments across teams.
• Champions engineering culture with focus on quality, observability, and reliability.

Skills

Leadership

Software architecture

Agile methodologies

Mentoring

Team coaching

DevOps

Observability

Tools

CI/CD tooling

Backend services stack

Job description

At Allstate, great things happen when our people work together to protect families and their belongings from life's uncertainties. And for more than 90 years, our innovative drive has kept us a step ahead of our customers' evolving needs. From advocating for seat belts, air bags and graduated driving laws, to being an industry leader in pricing sophistication, telematics, and, more recently, device and identity protection.

Job Description

In this role, you will lead a team of software engineers responsible for designing, building, and delivering the next generation of operational claims systems supporting Allstate Dealer Services. This platform is a strategic investment in the future of the business, enabling more efficient operations, faster service delivery, improved customer experiences, and long-term cost optimization.

As an engineering leader, you will provide technical and people leadership to multiple agile teams responsible for the development, implementation, and support of modern backend services and applications. You will partner closely with product management, architecture, engineering leaders, and business stakeholders to establish technical direction, deliver business outcomes, and cultivate a high-performing engineering culture.

This role is accountable for building and developing engineering talent, ensuring operational excellence, driving delivery commitments, and fostering engineering best practices. You will help shape the long-term technology strategy while creating an environment where teams can innovate, collaborate, and consistently deliver secure, scalable, and reliable solutions.

Key Responsibilities

• Leads and participates in knowledge sharing activities and contributes to the overall growth of the engineering organization through mentoring, coaching, and the promotion of engineering best practices.
• Participates in product discovery, portfolio planning, and strategic planning activities, providing technical leadership and helping translate business objectives into scalable technology solutions.
• Leads, coaches, and develops software engineering teams by providing ongoing performance feedback, career development guidance, and growth opportunities.
• Leads and participates in retrospectives, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, accountability, and constructive feedback.
• Partners with architects and technical leaders to establish and evolve the architecture, design, and technical roadmap of products and platforms supporting claims operations.
• Leads and participates in inception, iteration planning, backlog refinement, and prioritization activities in partnership with Product Managers and business stakeholders.
• Provides leadership and oversight across agile delivery teams, ensuring alignment on priorities, execution plans, and delivery objectives.
• Serves as the technical and organizational leader for the team, helping resolve complex technical challenges, removing delivery impediments, and supporting effective decision‑making.
• Champions engineering excellence through the adoption of modern software development practices, including automated testing, code quality standards, CI/CD pipelines, observability, and DevOps principles.
• Drives operational excellence by ensuring applications are secure, reliable, scalable, and effectively supported in production environments.
• Collaborates with product, engineering, architecture, security, and business leaders to align technology investments with strategic business objectives.
• Leads cross-functional and cross-product collaboration efforts to ensure consistency, reusability, and alignment across engineering teams and technology portfolios.
• Supports workforce