Software Development Manager Job Descriptions, Average Salary, Interview Questions

[Your Company Name] is looking for a professional software development manager to join our ranks. As our software development manager, you will be responsible for ensuring that deadlines are met. You will also be responsible for designing and implementing the goals for the software development projects your team is in charge of. It will be your task to ensure that the software meets the proper standards and adheres to market research, design the software document and proper protocol, and maintain the software components. As a software development manager, it may fall on you to occasionally code aspects of the software, as well as instruct team members on how to implement the proper code into the program. You will oversee the entirety of each software project and all team members, which means that fantastic communication skills are required for this position.

Typical duties and responsibilities

• Manage the development lifecycle of software products
• Research new technologies to strengthen the organization 
• Oversee, create and implement software products and applications
• Plan, direct and coordinate the actions of the development team
• Responsible for technology delivery
• Provide technical leadership and guidance to the organization
• Act as a liaison between the department and senior leadership 

Education and experience

This position requires a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, systems engineering, or a related field. Employers typically prefer candidates with a master’s degree, but it isn’t a requirement.

Required skills and qualifications

• Solid critical-thinking and decision-making skills
• Proficient in finding creative solutions to complex problems
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to collaborate with and lead colleagues
• Expertise in programming and debugging

Preferred qualifications

• 5 years of hands-on software development experience
• 2+ years of experience in managing, mentoring, and leading software engineering teams
• Excellent software project management skills

We are looking for a Software Development Manager to partner with world-class data scientists, mathematicians, economists, and operations research scientists to implement models, algorithms, and production systems to dramatically lower costs and create better customer experiences. These systems will create offline optimizations determining operations and will also provide runtime APIs used for operations.

There will be many opportunities to learn and grow in this role. In this role you will have the opportunity to learn from collaborate with and influence throughout the ABC Company Supply Chain.

We have a team culture that seeks diverse perspectives: we believe diversity in approaches, background and perspectives improve our chances of finding innovative high-impact solutions. We are supportive and deeply collaborative: most of these problems are near impossible to solve without engineering, data-science and business domain experts working closely together.

Key job responsibilities

• Manage a team of high caliber Software Development Engineers building solutions for Transportation Planning and Optimization within the ABC Company seller ecosystem
• Recruit, hire, mentor, and coach Software Development Engineers at different levels of experience
• Manage and execute against project plans and deliver commitments within a professional, high paced engineering environment
• Interface with our internal/external customers to understand requirements, set priorities, and communicate direction and progress
• Own all operational metrics and support for your teams’ software
• Drive improvements in software engineering practices

Basic qualifications

• 7+ years of experience working directly within engineering teams
• Experience partnering with product OR program management teams
• 3+ years of people management experience, managing engineers
• 3+ years of experience architecting and designing (architecture, design patterns, reliability, and scaling) of new and current systems

Preferred qualifications

• Master’s degree in STEM or related field
• Solid software development background including design patterns, data structures, and test driven development
• Ability to handle multiple, competing priorities in a fast-paced environment, and navigate ambiguity
• A deep understanding of the software development life-cycle, and a track record of shipping software on time
• Experience designing software architectures for scalability, reliability, and performance
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• A passion for people management and mentorship

The ABC Company team is seeking a highly experienced and passionate Software Development Manager to lead our back-end services development team for our Field Service Management platform to meet market demand and produce customers for life.

You are passionate about technology; you have worked as a developer who has moved into a management role. You are comfortable working alongside senior architects and project managers to lead your team in delivering scalable, secure, and quality products. You have years of experience managing multiple streams of activity simultaneously, you know how to break through roadblocks your team might hit, and you know how to provide accurate and timely updates to work activities.

From a technical perspective, you are experienced with PHP and .NET for creating a services-oriented backend that uses MySQL for storage. You have first-hand knowledge of building systems in the cloud, with bonus points for AWS. You are as comfortable trouble shooting issues as you are managing a standup call.

As a manager, you have experience working with distributed teams in multiple time zones, with a mix of contractors and FTEs, you’re experienced in tracking work activities using Jira and either Kanban or SCRUM agile methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Manage the day-to-day activities of a distributed development team focusing on backend services development
• Work with the product team to ensure the team has accurate and understood requirements
• Work with project management to ensure project status is accurate and issues are raised up quickly
• Work with the architecture team and front-end development team to design solutions and create common roadmaps
• Work with key stakeholders, prospects, and customers to identify and prioritize product features and functionality
• Participate in all grooming and priority setting sessions with stakeholders

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on software development
• 3+ years building and managing high performance software development teams
• Experience in cloud hosted SAAS (Software as a Service) industry
• Experience with Agile methodologies (Kanban or SCRUM) as a development manager
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Experience using Jira for Agile project management
• Builds trust easily and effortlessly to assume a leadership role
• Creative thinker and problem solver
• You are self-motivated and a driven contributor who gets things done
• You are well organized and detail-oriented
• You love working with others
• You are not afraid to make decisions
• Bachelor’s Degree preferred

Highly desired background

• PHP and/or .NET services development experience
• You have worked at a startup or small company (<50 employees)
• Deep understanding of Home Service Industry or Field Service Management applications
• Intimate knowledge of the inner workings of service-based businesses

As a leader in our IT group, you will play a key role in our global business by leading the development team with focus on growth priorities and existing systems. You will serve as a technical leader, able to discuss data structures, new technologies, and new methods of achieving system goals. You will also provide servant leadership to your team, removing roadblocks, coaching and mentoring as needed, facilitating collaboration with internal customers, and helping your team to succeed.

Responsibilities

• Be the technical and people leader for software developers of various experience levels
• Attract, hire, and maintain a team of talented developers
• Use your technical expertise to contribute towards building best-in-class products
• Take projects or significant features from concept to implementation
• Collaborate with IT and business management to establish priorities for the team’s plan and manage team performance
• Guide technical documentation of project requirements, developer processes, and end-user documentation
• Support an excellent customer experience by being proactive in assessing escalations, and working with the team to respond appropriately
• Follow and promote ABC company core values

Minimum qualifications & experience

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field
• 6+ years of experience designing and building scalable enterprise software
• 2+ years of managing teams within a development organization
• Experience with Microsoft technology including VB or C# .NET, MS SQL, SSRS, TFS/DevOps
• Ability to balance multiple priorities and communicate across organizational boundaries
• Ability to build strong relationships with diverse teams within an organization
• Strong leadership, communication and organizational skills