Sr. Manager, Software Engineering

El Pollo Loco, Inc.; Costa Mesa (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Great Place to Work culture

Career growth opportunities

Medical + Dental + Vision Insurance +

401(K) with match

Paid Vacation + Sick Pay + 12 Holidays

Employee Assistance Program

Food discounts

PerkSpot discounts

Job summary

El Pollo Loco is seeking a Senior Manager of Software Engineering to set vision, standards, and execution strategy for our software engineering function. This leader will manage architects, API services, integrations, and modernization initiatives across platforms that support restaurant operations and enterprise functions.

You'll partner with Restaurant Technologies, Data & Analytics, Infrastructure, HR, Finance, Marketing, and Operations to deliver secure, scalable software that aligns with

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field.
• 8–12 years of progressive software development experience.
• At least 5 years in a technical leadership role (Engineering Manager, Lead Developer, or similar).
• Prior experience with application development.

Responsibilities

• Leads and manages the software engineering organization, including application developers and quality assurance engineers.
• Establishes the technical direction, engineering standards, and development practices for the organization.
• Provides architectural oversight and technical leadership across application development, integrations, APIs, and data workflows.
• Guides modernization initiatives including platform upgrades, cloud adoption, system refactoring, and technical debt reduction.
• Oversees the full software development lifecycle including requirements, design, development, testing, documentation, and deployment. Brings AI capabilities into SDLC.
• Establishes and enforces coding standards, secure development practices, version control strategies, CI/CD pipelines, and documentation requirements.

Skills

Technical leadership

Application development

Architecture design

Cross-functional collaboration

Onsite work policy adherence

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field

Tools

Git

CI/CD pipelines

APIs

ETL platforms

Databases

Job description

At El Pollo Loco, we are on a mission to be the nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant. When it comes to our people, we are all about growth. Whether that means specialized training, a clearly laid out career trajectory or collaborating cross-functionally, we are committed to the success of our people the same way we’ve been committed to the success of the El Pollo Loco brand for the last 50 years. In fact, we see you as our secret ingredient. While our chicken is fire, it’s our people who set us ablaze.
Our restaurants are only the tip of the flame! If you’re looking for an innovative, winning, and welcoming workplace, then a flamin’ good career in our Restaurant Support Center is right for you.
At our Support Center, we believe our best work is done Together, when departments collaborate and everyone is confident in contributing their ideas. This is why we are in the office 3 days per week.
Let’s Get Loco!
What’s in it for you!

• STRONG office culture recognized as a Great Place to Work® and driven by our core values: Simple. Together. Relentless. Ownership. Nimble. Growth
• Career growth opportunities
• Competitive pay and bonus potential
• Medical + Dental + Vision Insurance + HSA Savings Account
• 401(K) Retirement Plan with company match and immediate vesting
• Paid Vacation + Sick Pay + 12 Paid Holidays
• Employee Assistance Program
• Free El Pollo Loco food + restaurant discounts
• PerkSpot discounts program

The Senior Manager of Software Engineering is a senior technical leader responsible for setting the vision, standards, and execution strategy for the company’s software engineering function. This role leads and develops software engineering organization while also maintaining strong technical oversight of architecture, integrations, and application platforms that support restaurant operations and enterprise functions.
Serving as both a strategic leader and hands-on technical advisor, this role oversees internal application development, enterprise integrations, API services, and modernization initiatives across multiple platforms. Our current stack includes Java-based systems, JavaScript web applications, SQL databases, and enterprise data and integration platforms. The Senior Manager ensures the engineering organization delivers secure, scalable, high-quality software aligned with business priorities and long-term technology strategy.
This leader establishes technical stack, engineering best practices, quality assurance, and delivery processes. The Senior Manager partners with cross-functional technology and business leaders—including Restaurant Technologies, Data & Analytics, Infrastructure, HR, Finance, Marketing, and Operations—to deliver resilient, scalable solutions that support enterprise growth and operational efficiency.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Leads and manages the software engineering organization, including application developers and quality assurance engineers.
• Establishes the technical direction, engineering standards, and development practices for the organization.
• Provides architectural oversight and technical leadership across application development, integrations, APIs, and data workflows.
• Guides modernization initiatives including platform upgrades, cloud adoption, system refactoring, and technical debt reduction.
• Oversees the full software development lifecycle including requirements, design, development, testing, documentation, and deployment. Brings AI capabilities into SDLC.
• Establishes and enforces coding standards, secure development practices, version control strategies, CI/CD pipelines, and documentation requirements.
• Maintains architectural ownership for applications and near real-time integrations.
• Works in an architect capacity with the Digital Marketing team, representing IT in design sessions.
• Leads the Technical QA & Documentation Manager to ensure testing strategies, release documentation, and acceptance criteria are completed prior to deployment.
• Serves as the senior technical authority and final approver for production releases, ensuring compliance with PCI/SOX controls, security standards, and rollback procedures.
• Collaborates with Restaurant Systems, Infrastructure, Data & Analytics, Finance, HR, Marketing, and Operations leadership to align engineering initiatives with business priorities.
• Oversees the design and performance of APIs, integrations, and data pipelines with emphasis on scalability, reliability, logging, and monitoring.
• Evaluates emerging technologies, vendor platforms, and engineering tools to improve efficiency, security, and system capabilities.
• Manages engineering capacity planning, sprint planning, backlog prioritization, and delivery timelines across multiple initiatives.
• Provides leadership, coaching, mentorship, and career development for engineers, analysts, and technical leads.
• Ensures the creation and maintenance of technical documentation including architecture diagrams, integration specifications, release notes, and operational runbooks.
• Other duties as assigned by supervisor.

QUALIFICATIONS – EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, LICENSE/CERTIFICATIONS:
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to satisfactorily perform the essential functions of the job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job. The requirements listed below are representative of the education and/or experience required.
Education/Work Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree preferred in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or related field.
• 8–12 years of progressive software development experience.
• At least 5 years in a technical leadership role (Engineering Manager, Lead Developer, or similar).
• Prior experience with application development.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
Deep technical expertise with application development frameworks, databases, and modern API architecture.

• Deep technical expertise with application development frameworks, databases, and modern API architecture.
• Experience integrating enterprise platforms.
• Familiarity with ETL platforms.
• Strong understanding of source control (Git), CI/CD pipelines, automated deployments, and branching strategies.
• Experience designing scalable enterprise integrations and distributed systems.
• Strong leadership and organizational management skills for building and developing engineering teams.
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives, priorities, and delivery timelines.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to guide teams through complex technical challenges.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills across both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Ability to enforce engineering standards, documentation practices, and release governance in partnership with QA & Documentation leadership.
• Ability to work onsite at the Support Center consistent with the hybrid work policy.

Our Company
The first American El Pollo Loco opened on Alvarado Street in Los Angeles, quickly becoming a destination for the best citrus-marinated, fire-grilled pollo in town. Over the past four decades, El Pollo Loco has grown into more than 500 restaurants across 9 states, becoming an L.A. mainstay and cultural benchmark along the way. Today, we continue to work just as hard to always provide our customers with Quality Chicken. Fast. Easy. Affordable.
The pay range identified is the hourly or salary rate El Pollo Loco expects to pay for the posted position. This range does not include any benefits or bonus opportunities that might be available for the position based on position and eligibility criteria. At El Pollo Loco, it is not typical for an individual to be hired at the high end of the range. Individual pay decisions will vary based on a variety of factors including years of experience, industry experience, education, geography, etc.