Desktop Software Engineering Manager

AlphaSense•Chicago, IL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

AlphaSense is establishing a new Desktop Software Engineering function within its Corporate Technology department and is seeking a manager to lead its development from inception. This role bridges enterprise endpoint engineering and internal product quality, focusing on ensuring the reliability of AlphaSense's desktop applications on all company-managed endpoints. It also contributes to large-scale macOS and Windows device management. This is a technical leadership position, managing a team of engineers responsible for MDM platforms, automation, and serving as a liaison between Corporate IT and product engineering. The founding manager will define the team's operational model, prioritization strategies, and methods for building trust with internal IT and engineering teams. The role reports to the Senior Manager of Integrated IT and collaborates with Security, Business Applications, and Information Engineering teams as part of AlphaSense's Secure IT initiative.

Requirements

5+ years of experience in endpoint engineering, desktop platform engineering, or a related technical discipline.
At least 2 years in a people management or formal tech lead role.
Hands-on background with macOS and/or Windows at a systems/configuration level, beyond standard user support.
Demonstrated experience with one or more enterprise MDM platforms: Kandji/Iru, Jamf Pro, or Microsoft Intune.
Experience managing or closely partnering with product engineering teams on client-side issues.
Comfortable reading a bug report, asking the right diagnostic questions, and holding the line on quality.
Proven ability to build and run a technical function: defining process, establishing standards, and driving accountability without micromanaging.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Kandji/Iru specifically, including Blueprint architecture and enforcement scripting.
Familiarity with Electron-based desktop applications and their specific deployment, update, and permission behaviors on managed endpoints.
Experience with CrowdStrike Falcon, Cloudflare Zero Trust / WARP, or Okta in an enterprise endpoint context.
Background in a SaaS product company where Corporate IT and Engineering teams collaborate closely.
Familiarity with Qualys VMDR or similar vulnerability management tooling.
Experience operating within a formal security-focused IT program (Zero Trust, SOC 2, endpoint compliance).
Familiarity with Jira Service Management for ticket and change management workflows.

Responsibilities

Ensure the team tests new desktop application releases against the managed device baseline before broad internal rollout.
Own the team's relationship with product engineering regarding the behavior of AlphaSense desktop applications on managed employee endpoints.
Define the standard for capturing and communicating diagnostic data (logs, traces, environmental context) to product engineering to accelerate resolution.
Establish and maintain a process for reproducing, triaging, and escalating employee-reported desktop application issues, including crash analysis, update failures, OS permission conflicts, and performance degradation.
Maintain visibility into endpoint fleet health and desktop application experience, proactively reporting on trends, risks, and improvements.
Coordinate with Integrated IT leadership on resourcing, prioritization, and roadmap planning.
Contribute to the Secure IT initiative by owning the endpoint engineering workstream within the broader Corporate Technology program.
Hire, onboard, and develop a team of 2–4 Desktop System Software Engineers, focusing on deep technical capability in endpoint engineering and desktop application diagnostics.
Define the operating model for the function: issue triage, escalation, diagnosis, resolution, team interfaces with product engineering, and work tracking/reporting.
Build and maintain a culture of engineering rigor (runbooks, documentation, automation, post-incident review) rather than reactive ticket-chasing.
Set clear expectations, provide regular feedback, and support career development for team members.
Represent the Desktop Engineering function in cross-functional forums and planning cycles.
Collaborate and contribute to the strategy and execution of macOS and Windows endpoint management across the enterprise fleet via Kandji/Iru and Microsoft Intune.
Guide the team in designing and maintaining enrollment workflows, configuration profiles, compliance policies, and custom automation scripts.
Help ensure software deployment, patch management, and application control strategies are current, scalable, and aligned with the Security team's enforcement posture.
Partner with Security on EDR (CrowdStrike Falcon), Zero Trust (Cloudflare WARP/Gateway), and identity (Okta) integrations at the endpoint layer, representing the endpoint engineering perspective in policy decisions.