Tech Lead/Manager, Software Engineering (Remote)

Cengage Group; Madison (WI); Remote; USD 102,000 - 163,000; Full time

Job summary

Cengage Group, a global edtech leader, seeks a Software Engineering Manager to drive an AI-first roadmap for the Learning Platforms. You will lead a globally distributed team, partner with product and design, and push innovative engineering practices to deliver high-quality experiences for millions of learners.

You will collaborate with internal and external stakeholders, implement modern cloud-native solutions, and mentor engineers across disciplines while maintaining a strong focus on

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or related field or equivalent experience.
• 2+ years of technology leadership experience, including developing technology strategies and leading distributed teams.
• Hands-on experience with GenAI concepts and tools (OpenAI, Hugging Face, LangChain) is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and grow a high-performing engineering team focused on quality, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Reimagine and optimize software delivery using modern tools, automation, and generative AI.
• Engage in Product Operating Model (POM) Discovery with stakeholders to align solutions with goals.
• Track quality and efficiency through SDLC tooling and report progress to executives.
• Balance technical debt with new feature work within each sprint.
• Collaborate with partners to manage backlogs, estimates, and budgets.
• Stay ahead of emerging technologies to keep roadmaps innovative.

Skills

Java

React

Agile delivery

Jira/Azure DevOps

Distributed teams

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS

Tools

AWS

GCP

Azure

Containers

Serverless

APIs

Jira/Azure DevOps

Job description

Massachusetts, USA

United States

Full time

R2026-250

We believe in the power and joy of learning

At Cengage Group, our employees have a direct impact in helping students around the world discover the power and joy of learning. We are bonded by our shared purpose – driving innovation that helps millions of learners improve their lives and achieve their dreams through education.

Cengage Group’s portfolio of businesses supports student choice by providing a range of pathways that help learners achieve their goals and lead a choice-filled life.

Our culture values inclusion, engagement, and discovery

Our business is driven by our strong culture, and we know that creating an inclusive workplace is absolutely essential to the success of our company and our learners, as well as our individual well-being. We recognize the value of diverse perspectives in everything we do, and strive to ensure employees of all levels and backgrounds feel empowered to voice their ideas and bring their authentic selves to work. We achieve these priorities through programs, benefits, and initiatives that are integrated into the fabric of how we work every day. To learn more, please see https://www.cengagegroup.com/about/inclusion-and-belonging/ .

What you'll do here:

As the Software Engineering Manager, you will lead a team dedicated to creating tools to deliver a world-class experience for our Cengage Learning Platforms (CLP). Working closely with internal partners, you will define and implement an innovative, AI-first roadmap ensuring quality and accessibility remain a primary focus.

Following the Product Operating Model (POM), you will collaborate with product and design teams in your role as technical lead. Together you will focus on improving customer outcomes through frequent stakeholder engagements and data-driven insights.

• Lead, coach, and grow a high-performing engineering team focused on quality, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Reimagine and optimize software delivery processes using modern tools, automation, and generative AI.
• Engage in driving POM Discovery activities including continuous customer engagement, both internal and external, to derive solutions that meet end user, company, and technology goals.
• Track quality and efficiency improvements through well instrumented SDLC tools and report progress to executive teams.
• Balance technical debt and other maintenance activities alongside new feature development within each sprint.
• Work with partners and customers to establish and handle product backlogs, product estimates and budgets.
• Stay in front of emerging technologies and industry trends to inject continuous innovation into our product roadmaps.

Skills You Will Need Here:

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and recent, relevant work experience.
• 2+ years of technology leadership experience, including developing technology strategies, fostering innovation, and leading globally distributed teams.

Generative AI & Emerging Technologies

• Working knowledge of AI concepts, including machine learning, LLMs, multimodal models, prompt engineering, AI agents, RAG, and vector databases.
• Hands-on experience integrating or experimenting with commercial and open-source GenAI technologies and toolkits (e.g., coding assistants, OpenAI, Hugging Face, LangChain).

Architecture & Cloud Platforms

• Experience in modernizing legacy or monolithic architectures, migrating systems to modular, cloud-native platforms, and implementing hybrid cloud strategies.
• Ability to design and develop APIs that integrate legacy systems with modern solutions.
• Comfortable designing and deploying solutions on AWS, GCP, or Azure, including containers, serverless, and cloud storage/compute services.

Software Engineering & Product Delivery

• Proven ability to build secure, resilient, scalable, high-availability enterprise systems for global user bases.
• Strong experience with agile delivery (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe) and tooling such as Jira or Azure DevOps
• Demonstrated success organizing teams and delivery around a Product Operating Model
• Strong hands-on expertise with Java development required (5 years minimum)
• Strong hands-on expertise with React or other modern front-end technology required (5 years minimum)

Collaboration & Communication

• Strong cross-functional collaboration skills in distributed, remote-first environments.
• Ability to clearly communicate complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences, including executives.

Cengage is committed to working with broad talent pools to attract and hire strong and most qualified individuals. Our job applicants are considered regardless of any classification protected by applicable federal, state, provincial or local laws.

Cengage is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities including during our job application process. If you are an applicant with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in our job application process, please contact us at [e-mail] .

About Cengage

Cengage, a global education technology company serving millions of learners, provides affordable, quality digital products and services that equip students with the skills and competencies needed to be job ready. For more than 100 years, we have enabled the power and joy of learning with trusted, engaging content, and now, integrated digital platforms. We serve the higher education, workforce skills, secondary education, English language teaching and research markets worldwide. Through our scalable technology, including MindTap and Cengage Unlimited, we support all learners who seek to improve their lives and achieve their dreams through education.

Compensation

At Cengage Group, we take great pride in our commitment to providing a comprehensive and rewarding Total Rewards package designed to support and empower our employees. Click here (https://www.cengagegroup.com/news/perspectives/2024/cengage-group-total-rewards-philosophy/) to learn more about our Total Rewards Philosophy .

The full base pay range has been provided for this position. Individual base pay will vary based on work schedule, qualifications, experience, internal equity, and geographic location. Sales roles often incorporate a significant incentive compensation program beyond this base pay range.

In this position, you will be eligible to participate in the company’s discretionary incentive bonus program. This position's bonus target amount, which is not guaranteed and is dependent on individual performance and overall company results among other factors, is provided below.

15% Annual: Individual Target

$101,900.00 - $163,000.00 USD

Cengage, a global edtech company, supports learners, educators and institutions across more than 100 countries. With products serving nearly 16 million digital users across the Higher Education, School, Work and English Language Learning markets, we’ve built a learning ecosystem that connects education to employment. We combine trusted content, AI-powered insights and scalable digital platforms to power learning for every future and drive meaningful outcomes at every stage of the learning journey.