Sr Mgr Software Engineering

ACI Worldwide; Norcross (GA); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

ACI Worldwide seeks a hands-on Sr. Engineering Manager to lead a cross-functional team building a low-latency core banking product platform. You will own end-to-end delivery from architecture to production, with a focus on automation, reliability, security, and AI-enabled initiatives.

Location & Work Model: Hybrid role based in Norcross, GA. On-site on designated days; some remote days allowed per team needs. Strong leadership and cloud-native experience are 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; Java backend; Angular; Ansible; Nexus; Cloud Infrastructure (Azure, AWS, OpenShift).
• Demonstrated delivery of AI projects implemented in real environments (production or production-like).
• Strong engineering excellence mindset: automated testing, security-by-design, observability, and disciplined release practices.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a cross-functional team spanning backend, frontend, DevOps/Platform engineering, and QE; drive ownership and continuous improvement.
• Own delivery for roadmap initiatives and platform modernization across the full SDLC: planning, design, implementation, testing, release and production operations.
• Establish and communicate technical direction with Product Management and Architecture to meet business goals and non-functional requirements.
• Drive latency engineering: define SLOs, budgets, regression testing, and capacity planning for low-latency performance.
• Build an on-going operational readiness: observability, runbooks, safe rollouts, and rapid rollback practices.
• Lead cloud-native delivery on Kubernetes (GitOps-based deployment and configuration-as-code).
• Own and evolve CI/CD and artifact practices (Ansible, Nexus, Carvel toolchain, Kubernetes-native release workflows).
• Ensure secure, repeatable environment provisioning and reliable deployments across dev/test/stage/prod with automation as default.
• Build a quality-first test strategy across unit/integration/e2e, with modern test orchestration (Testkube) and CI test execution.
• Drive security and compliance testing as part of CI/CD (SAST/DAST/dependency scanning).
• Lead delivery of AI-enabled initiatives and establish responsible AI usage practices.

Skills

Kubernetes

Java backend development

Angular

Ansible

Nexus

Cloud infrastructure (Azure/AWS/OpenSh

Tools

Kubernetes

Ansible

Nexus

Carvel toolchain

GitOps

Job description

Powering the world’s payments ecosystem – ACI powers the payments ecosystem globally, and you power ACI. You’ll innovate, collaborate, and grow in an energetic technology culture with decades of proven success. ACIers – in all roles and levels – are truly your colleagues, and many are your friends. Our size and reach allow you to see the global impact of your work. You are visible, your talents are valued, and you are empowered to shape the future of payments.

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/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:
     • AI‑accelerated SDLC (planning, code review, test generation, documentation, defect reduction)
     • 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, or similar)
• 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.

I N 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.

Are you ready to help us transform the payments ecosystem? To learn more about ACI Worldwide, visit our web site at www.aciworldwide.com. Job ID (Requisition #10330).

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.

Important Notice About Recruitment Scams: 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 / @aciworldwide.com). The ACI Worldwide recruitment team will always follow official channels and will never request payment.