Sr. Manager of Engineering

thrively; Fort Worth (TX); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

thrively is seeking a Senior Manager of Engineering to lead two software teams delivering critical systems for product operations, advisor servicing, and sales compensation. This role combines people leadership with technical depth in .NET, Azure, and modern front-end tech to drive reliable delivery.

The position is onsite in Fort Worth Tuesday through Thursday and remote Monday and Friday. You will coach engineers, remove blockers, and partner with Product, Architecture, and vendors to raise

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading software engineers in senior roles.
• Strong Agile/Scrum implementation and coaching skills.
• Technical background in C#/.NET and Microsoft Azure.
• Experience with event-driven architectures and APIs.
• Ability to lead across DevOps, SDLC, and production support.
• Excellent cross-functional collaboration and communication.

Responsibilities

• Lead two software development teams across US-based and international engineers.
• Coach and develop engineers to foster ownership and accountability.
• Serve as Agile leader, remove blockers and improve processes.
• Oversee business-critical applications: product ops, advisor servicing, compensation, reporting, integrations.
• Partner with Product, Architecture, stakeholders, vendors to improve delivery.
• Drive quality, reliability, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Identify gaps in DevOps, SDLC, deployment and improve them.
• Guide modernization of legacy systems and knowledge transfer.
• Oversee .NET Community of Practice and drive standards for .NET/Azure.
• Support AI-assisted software development initiatives.

Skills

Leadership

Agile/Scrum

Mentoring

Communication

Problem solving

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

C#/.NET

Microsoft Azure

Azure Service Bus

Azure Functions

React

Job description

Our client is a well-established financial services organization investing heavily in modernizing its technology platform and expanding its digital capabilities. They are looking for a Senior Manager of Engineering (and may consider someone at the Associate Director level) to lead two software development teams responsible for critical systems supporting product operations, advisor servicing, and sales compensation.

This is a people leadership role for someone who can build strong teams, improve execution, and create accountability while maintaining enough technical depth to effectively lead engineers working across .NET, Azure, event-driven architecture, integrations, and modern front-end technologies.

The ideal candidate does not need to already be operating at the Associate Director level. Our client is more interested in leadership potential, culture fit, technical credibility, and the ability to develop people than title or years in management. This role is onsite in Fort Worth Tuesday through Thursday and remote Monday and Friday.

What You’ll Own

• Lead two software development teams across a mix of U.S.-based and international engineering talent.
• Coach, develop, and support engineers while creating a culture of ownership, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Serve as a strong Agile leader, helping teams remove blockers, improve processes, and consistently improve how they operate.
• Lead teams responsible for business-critical applications spanning product operations, advisor servicing, compensation, reporting, and third-party integrations.
• Partner closely with Product, Architecture, business stakeholders, vendors, and other technology teams to improve execution and delivery.
• Protect the momentum of an established, high-performing engineering team while helping another team improve quality, reliability, processes, and cross-functional collaboration.
• Establish processes that improve software quality, reduce production issues, and strengthen coordination across engineering, data, vendors, and business partners.
• Help guide the long‑term modernization of legacy systems while ensuring critical technical and institutional knowledge is captured and transferred.
• Identify gaps across DevOps, SDLC, deployment, and engineering practices and take ownership of improving them.
• Contribute to larger engineering initiatives alongside the broader development leadership team.
• Oversee the .NET Community of Practice and help drive technical standards around .NET, Azure Functions, Service Bus, and related development practices.
• Help teams adopt AI‑assisted software development as the organization makes a significant investment in evolving how software is built.

What We’re Looking For

• Experience leading software engineers as an Engineering Manager, Development Manager, Senior Engineering Manager, Technical Lead, or similar leadership role.
• Strong people leadership skills with a genuine interest in coaching, mentoring, and developing engineers.
• Strong understanding of Agile/Scrum practices and experience helping engineering teams improve execution.
• Technical background in C#/.NET and Microsoft Azure.
• Experience with event‑driven architecture and technologies such as Azure Service Bus and Azure Functions.
• Understanding of modern APIs, integrations, distributed systems, and software development practices.
• Experience working with modern front‑end technologies such as React is helpful.
• Ability to work effectively with Product, Architecture, QA, business stakeholders, and external vendors.
• Strong understanding of SDLC, DevOps, software quality, testing, deployment, and production support practices.
• Comfortable leading teams through technical modernization and working in environments containing both modern and legacy technology.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to translate between technical and business audiences.
• Ability to identify problems, bring structure to ambiguity, and lead teams through change.

The Ideal Profile

We’re looking for someone who is a people leader first, with strong technical credibility.

You may already be an experienced Senior Engineering Manager, or you may be a strong Engineering Manager ready to take the next step. What matters most is your ability to earn the trust of engineers, create healthy and accountable teams, facilitate strong Agile practices, and understand the technology well enough to challenge and support your teams.

This is a unique opportunity to inherit one highly productive team and protect the momentum they’ve built while helping another strong team navigate a complex technical environment and improve quality, reliability, and collaboration.

Our client is also preparing for a significant investment in AI‑assisted software development and a broader shift toward smaller, highly empowered engineering teams. This leader will have an opportunity to help shape how those changes are implemented while contributing to broader engineering practices across the organization.