Sr Mgr Software Engineering

ACI Worldwide, Inc.; Norcross (GA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

ACI Worldwide, Inc. is seeking a hands-on Senior Engineering Manager to lead a cross‑functional team delivering a low-latency, high‑throughput core banking platform. You will drive end‑to‑end delivery from architecture to production, focusing on reliability, security, and AI-enabled initiatives.

This hybrid role is based in Norcross, GA with on‑site days and remote work on other days per team needs. You will mentor engineers across backend, DevOps/Platform, QE, and SRE to achieve measurable

Qualifications

• 8+ years in software engineering for distributed systems; 4+ years in people leadership.
• Proven experience building low-latency, high-throughput banking/regulated platforms.
• Hands-on with Kubernetes, cloud-native architectures, Java backend, and modern web UIs.
• Experience delivering AI-enabled initiatives in production environments.
• Strong automation, testing, security-by-design, and observability practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead cross-functional teams across software, DevOps/Platform, QA, and security.
• Own end-to-end delivery from roadmap to production operations.
• Set technical direction aligning with product goals and non-functional requirements.
• Drive latency, reliability, and performance through SLOs and capacity planning.
• Coach leaders, manage stakeholders, and recruit top talent.

Skills

Kubernetes

Java backend

Angular

Ansible

Nexus

Carvel toolchain

Testkube

CI/CD

GitOps

Cloud platforms

AI/GenAI

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Kubernetes

Docker

Azure

AWS

OpenShift

Job description

Role Summary

We are seeking a hands‑on Sr. Engineering Manager to lead a cross‑functional team (Software Engineering, DevOps/Platform, Support and Quality Engineering) building and operating a low‑latency, high‑throughput core banking product platform. You will be accountable for end‑to‑end delivery: architecture‑to‑production execution, operational excellence, reliability, security/compliance, and an automation‑first quality strategy. You will also bring demonstrated experience delivering AI‑enabled initiatives and implementing AI‑based solutions in production.

Location & Work Model

This is a hybrid position based out of Norcross, GA. Candidates are expected to be on‑site on designated days and may work remotely on other days in accordance with team and business needs.

Key Responsibilities

1) Engineering Leadership & Delivery

• Lead and grow a cross‑functional team spanning backend, frontend, DevOps/Platform engineering, and Quality Engineering; drive strong ownership, execution discipline, and continuous improvement.
• Own delivery for roadmap initiatives and platform modernization across the full SDLC: planning, design, implementation, reviews, testing, release, and production operations.
• Establish and communicate technical direction in partnership with Product Management and Architecture to ensure the platform meets business goals and non‑functional requirements.

2) Low‑Latency, Reliability, and Performance (NFR‑First)

• Drive performance and latency engineering: define latency/throughput SLOs, performance budgets, regression testing, and capacity planning to maintain predictable low‑latency behavior under load.
• Build “always‑on” operational readiness: observability (logs/metrics/traces), runbooks, safe rollouts (feature flags, progressive delivery), and rapid rollback practices.
• Partner with Platform/SRE functions to ensure Kubernetes runtime reliability patterns (HA, scaling, and operational tooling) are built into the product delivery lifecycle.

3) DevOps / Platform Engineering Ownership

• Lead the team’s cloud‑native delivery model on Kubernetes (including GitOps‑based deployment and configuration‑as‑code).
• Own and evolve CI/CD and artifact practices using technologies such as Ansible, Nexus, Carvel toolchain (e.g., ytt, kapp‑controller), and Kubernetes‑native release workflows.
• Ensure secure, repeatable environment provisioning and reliable deployments across dev/test/stage/prod with automation as the default.

4) Quality Engineering & Test Automation (Shift‑Left)

• Build a “quality‑first” culture with an automated testing strategy across unit, integration, and e2e, with strong coverage targets and non‑negotiable quality gates.
• Implement and operationalize modern test orchestration and automation tooling, including Testkube, and enforce reliable, maintainable CI test execution.
• Drive security and compliance testing as part of CI/CD (SAST/DAST/dependency scanning), ensuring regulated‑workload readiness and auditability.

5) AI‑Enabled Engineering & Delivered AI Projects (Must‑Have)

• Lead delivery of AI‑enabled initiatives in two dimensions:
  1. AI‑accelerated SDLC (planning, code review, test generation, documentation, defect reduction)
  2. AI/ML/GenAI solution delivery where AI is part of the shipped product or operational capability
• Establish responsible AI usage practices: teams are encouraged to use AI, but remain accountable for outputs; validate correctness, security, and maintainability before merging.
• Enforce safe prompting and data handling: never place secrets/credentials/PCI/PII into prompts; use placeholders and abstractions.

6) People Leadership & Stakeholder Management

• Coach engineers, DevOps, and QE leads; build career plans, performance feedback loops, and hiring strategies to raise the talent bar.
• Collaborate with Product, Security, Compliance, and Operations leaders to deliver outcomes with transparency, predictable execution, and clear metrics.

Required Qualifications

• 8+ years in software engineering building distributed systems; 4+ years leading teams (engineering + DevOps and/or QE leadership experience strongly preferred).
• Proven experience building and operating low‑latency, high‑throughput systems in banking, payments, or other regulated transaction platforms.
• Hands‑on expertise with:
  • Kubernetes and cloud‑native architectures (microservices, containerization, orchestration)
  • Java backend development (high‑performance, concurrent, resilient services)
  • Angular (modern web UI, performance‑minded frontend engineering)
  • Ansible (automation/configuration management)
  • Nexus (artifact repository and dependency management)
  • Cloud infrastructure (Familiarity with deployment and development on public and private cloud Azure, AWS, OpenShift)
• Demonstrated delivery of AI projects implemented in real environments (production or production‑like), such as:
  • GenAI‑assisted developer workflows with measurable outcomes (quality/velocity/defect reduction)
  • AI/ML capabilities embedded into product or operations (e.g., automated diagnostics, anomaly detection, intelligent triage)
• Strong engineering excellence mindset: automated testing, security‑by‑design, observability, and disciplined release practices.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with GitOps and Kubernetes platform components (policy‑as‑code, secrets management, progressive delivery).
• Experience with regulated environments and compliance constraints (PCI/GDPR/SOC2) and integrating security controls into CI/CD.
• Experience scaling test automation and implementing testing pyramids and coverage standards across multiple teams.
• Familiarity with internal developer platform concepts (“golden paths”, self‑service, reduced cognitive load).
• Carvel toolchain (e.g., ytt, kapp‑controller) for packaging/config/deploy workflows.
• Testkube for test orchestration and automation.

Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full‑time basis. This position does not offer sponsorship for employment visa status or work permit now or in the future.

In return for your expertise, we offer opportunities for growth, career development, and a competitive compensation and benefits package—all within an innovative and collaborative work environment.

ACI Worldwide is an AA/EEO employer in the United States, which includes providing equal opportunity for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities, and an EEO employer globally.

Recruitment Notice

Job seekers should be aware of ongoing recruitment scams where individuals or organizations impersonate legitimate companies to offer fake job opportunities. These scams often involve requests for personal information, payments, or interviews through unofficial channels. Please be cautious and verify any communications claiming to be from our company (www.aciworldwide.com). The ACI Worldwide recruitment team will always follow official channels and will never request payment.