Software Engineering Manager

Department

BSD CTD - Engineering - Plan X

About the Department

The Center for Translational Data Science (CTDS) at the University of Chicago is a research center whose mission is to develop the discipline of translational data science to impactful problems in biology, medicine, healthcare, and the environment. We envision a world in which researchers have ready access to the data needed and the tools required to make data driven discoveries that increase our scientific knowledge and improve the quality of life. We architect ecosystems of large-scale commons of research data, computing resources, applications, tools, and services for the broader research community to use data at scale to pursue scientific inquiry and accelerate discovery. Learn more at https://gdc.cancer.gov/, https://gen3.org/, https://stats.gen3.org/, and https://ctds.uchicago.edu/.

Job Summary

The Software Engineering Manager must manage multiple engineering teams, make well-informed engineering decisions and balance resources to help the organization achieve its strategic goals. You will be responsible for leading teams and individuals to achieve project objectives and helping individuals define their career paths and realize their goals. You will assist the Director of Engineering to (1) ensure successful delivery of projects; (2) have a comprehensive overview of status, work in process, and any project or staffing issues; (3) develop and implement standard policies and processes across the engineering team. As a manager, you will proactively and effectively address management challenges by working with team leads and individuals, collaborate across team boundaries, and serve as a subject-matter expert within technical areas of all major projects’ and the core product’s scopes.

This at-will position is wholly or partially funded by contractual grant funding which is renewed under provisions set by the grantor of the contract. Employment will be contingent upon the continued receipt of these grant funds and satisfactory job performance.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for a scope vital to the long-term success of the engineering team, in one or more functional areas, providing team leadership and effectively supervising staff.
• Responsible for defining, improving, and managing engineering processes to ensure efficiency.
• Responsible for participating in strategy execution and staffing.
• Oversees design and implementation of top priority technical tasks and timely delivery of such tasks, meeting the required level of quality.
• Responsible for leading teams to achieve project objectives and helping individuals define their career paths and realize their goals.
• Proactively and effectively addresses management challenges by working with team leads and individuals.
• Negotiate complex decisions, present options and persuasively advocate for optimal technical solutions, internally and externally, and acts as a technical consultant and resource for faculty research, teaching, and/or administrative projects.
• Responsible for design and implementation of top priority technical tasks and timely delivery of such tasks, meeting the required level of quality.
• Lead team(s) of software engineers/ software engineers in test/ platform engineers and provide technical guidance and leadership for the team to follow best practices and deliver quality software timely while contributing to definitions of technical specifications and review implementation standards.
• Manage and lead the design of new systems, features, and tools. Solves complex problems and identifies opportunities for technical improvement and performance optimization. Reviews and tests code to ensure appropriate standards are met.
• Manages employees by establishing annual performance goals, allocating resources, assessing annual performance, and determining individual merit, incentive and/or promotional increases. Provides technical oversight and develops standards, guidelines, and processes for application systems.
• Creates plans to translate business requirements into well-designed applications while balancing user and business needs, technical competencies, industry developments, and time constraints.
• Advises decisions on project and infrastructure needs, including the evaluation of server technologies, languages, platforms, and frameworks. Develops timelines and project plans for the team.
• Formulates and defines specifications for complex installations, maintenance, and upgrades. Identifies and analyzes performance and capacity issues.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

Certifications:

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Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Advanced degree in computer science, mathematics, statistics, engineering, or a relevant quantitative field.

Experience:

• 5+ years of relevant software development experience, full cycle preferred, including design, coding, testing, and support.
• 2-3 years of managerial or supervisory experience of cross functional software engineering teams.
• Advanced programming skills using Python, Golang and Javascript.
• Knowledge and or experience with the following: web applications, REST API, microservices, and containers; Unix/Linux programming, open source, and version control experience; IaC provisioning tools (Terraform, Terragrunt) and container-based deployment solutions (Docker, Kubernetes, Helm); modern database and data analytics technologies (Postgres, MySQL, NoSQL, Elasticsearch, Spark, Hadoop, etc.); and High performance/cloud computing experience (AWS, GCP, Openstack).
• Experience with CI/CD and version control tools (e.g., GitHub Actions, git).
• Experience with managing open-source projects.
• Experience with Agile methodologies.
• Domain experience in biomedical informatics.

Preferred Competencies

• High-level knowledge in all technical areas of all major projects’ and the core product’s scopes or having demonstrated the ability to achieve that level of proficiency in a short period of time.

• Ability to manage multiple engineering teams and team leads, make well-informed engineering decisions and balance resources to help the organization achieve its strategic goals.

• Ability to effectively communicate organizational goals and mentor team members by providing constructive and helpful input and feedback.

• Ability to prioritize and manage team workload to meet critical project milestones and deadlines.

• Ability to persuade/manage others to adopt new structures or systems to meet objectives.

• Advanced understanding of computer science principles.

• Project management skills, including a demonstrated ability to manage multiple teams and projects simultaneously, and own time well, and achieve objectives.

• Ability to take broad ideas and turn it into a roadmap and high-level tasks, estimate the effort needed to complete them, and ensure the completion of each task, meeting the required level of quality.

• In-depth knowledge with microservice architecture, design patterns, cloud platforms (AWS/GCP), RESTful API, and web services.

• Ability to work in a collaborative team and provide technical management of the engineering teams, and to ensure accountability for deliverables and outcomes.

• Understands and can maintain confidentiality related to sensitive matters such as strategic initiatives, trade secrets, quiet periods, and scientific discoveries yet to be put in the public domain.

Application Documents 

• Resume (required)
• Cover Letter (preferred)

The University of Chicago uses AI-assisted tools to streamline and augment some recruitment processes; however, AI is not used to make hiring decisions.

When applying, the document(s) MUST be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family

Information Technology

Role Impact

People Manager

Scheduled Weekly Hours

40

Drug Test Required

No

Health Screen Required

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required

No

Pay Rate Type

Salary

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FLSA Status

Exempt

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Pay Range

$130,000.00 - $170,000.00

The included pay rate or range represents the University’s good faith estimate of the possible compensation offer for this role at the time of posting.

Benefits Eligible

Yes

The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off. Information about the benefit offerings can be found in the Benefits Guidebook.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu. Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.