Mgr Software Engineering

ACI Worldwide•Omaha, NE

2h•Hybrid

About The Position

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. As a Software Engineering Manager in Omaha, NE or Norcross, GA, you will join a diverse, passionate team, dedicated to powering the world’s payments ecosystem! JOB PURPOSE The Software Engineering Manager is a first-level people leader responsible for leading a team of software engineers to deliver high-quality software solutions while developing team members' technical and professional capabilities. Reporting to a Director of Software Engineering, this role balances hands-on technical contribution with people management, ensuring the team executes effectively on product roadmaps while maintaining engineering excellence, fostering collaboration, and driving continuous improvement.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field required
Equivalent experience (8+ years software engineering) may substitute for degree
5-8+ years of software engineering experience with demonstrated technical proficiency
2+ years of people management experience leading engineering teams
Proven track record delivering complex software features from concept to production
Experience working in agile environments (Scrum, Kanban)
Experience with full software development lifecycle including design, development, testing, and deployment
Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP)
Strong proficiency in one or more programming languages (Java, C#, Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Go)
Experience with web application frameworks (Spring Boot, .NET Core, React, Angular, Node.js)
Working knowledge of microservices architecture and RESTful API design
Understanding of databases (SQL: PostgreSQL, MySQL; NoSQL: MongoDB, DynamoDB)
Familiarity with message queuing systems (Kafka, RabbitMQ, SQS)
Experience with containerization and orchestration (Docker, Kubernetes)
Knowledge of cloud services (AWS EC2, Lambda, S3, RDS; Azure equivalents)
Experience integrating LLMs and AI models into applications (OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Azure OpenAI, AWS Bedrock)
Understanding of prompt engineering, RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), and vector databases
Familiarity with AI agent frameworks and orchestration (LangChain, LlamaIndex, AutoGen, CrewAI)
Knowledge of embedding models and semantic search techniques
Experience with AI-powered development tools (GitHub Copilot, Cursor, ChatGPT, Claude)
Understanding of AI governance, responsible AI practices, and model evaluation
Awareness of AI security concerns including prompt injection and data leakage
Strong understanding of CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps)
Experience with version control systems (Git) and branching strategies
Knowledge of automated testing (unit, integration, E2E testing frameworks)
Understanding of monitoring and observability tools (Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, Splunk)
Familiarity with infrastructure as code (Terraform, CloudFormation)
Experience with agile methodologies and tools (Jira, Azure DevOps)
Understanding of secure coding practices and OWASP Top 10
Knowledge of authentication/authorization patterns (OAuth, JWT, SAML)
Awareness of compliance requirements for financial services (PCI DSS, SOC 2)
Experience with vulnerability scanning and remediation
DORA metrics and engineering productivity measurement
Agile metrics (velocity, burn-down, cycle time, lead time)
Quality metrics (defect density, test coverage, code complexity)
System reliability metrics (uptime, error rates, latency)
Strong people management skills with ability to motivate and develop engineers
Excellent communication skills with technical and non-technical audiences
Ability to give and receive constructive feedback
Strong problem-solving and critical thinking abilities
Conflict resolution and interpersonal skills
Time management and prioritization in fast-paced environment
Empathy and emotional intelligence
Growth mindset and commitment to continuous learning
Ability to make decisions with incomplete information
Accountability and ownership of team outcomes

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Computer Science or related field
3+ years of engineering management experience
Experience managing engineers at different career levels (junior through senior)
Experience scaling engineering teams and processes
Agile certifications (Certified Scrum Master, SAFe Scrum Master)
Technical certifications (AWS Certified Developer, Azure Developer Associate)
Experience in payment processing, transaction systems, or financial platforms
Background in both frontend and backend development
Experience with event-driven architectures and real-time processing
Experience building or integrating AI agents or autonomous systems
Hands-on experience with machine learning model deployment and MLOps
Familiarity with vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, ChromaDB) and semantic search
Experience with AI model fine-tuning or training
Knowledge of AI ethics, bias detection, and fairness in AI systems
Familiarity with machine learning or data engineering concepts
Open source contributions or technical community involvement
Experience implementing engineering metrics programs

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 10 -15 software engineers across various experience levels
Conduct regular 1-on-1s focused on career development, feedback, and goal progress
Set clear performance expectations and deliver constructive feedback through ongoing coaching
Manage performance improvement plans and make difficult personnel decisions when necessary
Create individual development plans aligned with career aspirations and business needs
Facilitate team dynamics, resolve conflicts, and build cohesive, high-performing teams
Drive recruitment efforts including sourcing, interviewing, and hiring top engineering talent
Onboard new team members with structured ramp-up plans and mentorship assignments
Foster inclusive team culture where all members feel valued and empowered to contribute
Recognize and celebrate team achievements and individual contributions
Ensure on-time delivery of high-quality software features aligned with product roadmaps
Break down complex initiatives into manageable work items with clear acceptance criteria
Facilitate sprint planning, daily standups, retrospectives, and other agile ceremonies
Remove blockers and dependencies that impede team progress
Monitor work-in-progress and team velocity to maintain sustainable delivery pace
Balance feature development with technical debt reduction and platform improvements
Coordinate with other engineering teams to manage dependencies and integration points
Drive root cause analysis for production incidents and implement preventive measures
Participate in on-call rotation and ensure team maintains operational excellence
Track and communicate progress, risks, and blockers to leadership and stakeholders
Establish and enforce code quality standards through reviews and best practices
Guide technical design decisions and architectural approaches for team's domain
Promote test-driven development and comprehensive automated testing strategies
Champion DevOps practices including CI/CD, infrastructure as code, and observability
Ensure security best practices are embedded in development lifecycle
Drive adoption of AI-powered development tools to enhance team productivity
Evaluate and integrate AI capabilities into products where appropriate
Establish guidelines for responsible AI usage and model evaluation
Drive technical debt visibility and advocate for dedicated time to address it
Stay current with technology trends including AI/ML advancements and evaluate new tools and frameworks
Contribute code to critical features and technical spikes (20-30% time)
Mentor engineers on technical skills, design patterns, AI integration, and problem-solving approaches
Foster engineering craftsmanship through code reviews, pair programming, and knowledge sharing
Partner with Product Management on feature definition, scope, and acceptance criteria
Work with Technical Program Managers on capacity planning and portfolio execution
Collaborate with Architecture team on technical standards and design reviews
Engage with QA/Test teams to ensure comprehensive testing strategies
Communicate team progress, risks, and achievements to Director and stakeholders
Translate business requirements into technical solutions and explain technical constraints to non-technical audiences
Facilitate cross-team collaboration and knowledge transfer
Represent team in engineering leadership forums and initiatives
Build strong working relationships across engineering, product, and business teams
Drive continuous improvement through retrospectives and actionable experiments
Monitor and improve team metrics including velocity, cycle time, and quality indicators
Implement and track DORA metrics (deployment frequency, lead time, MTTR, change failure rate)
Identify process bottlenecks and implement improvements to engineering workflows
Leverage tools and automation to improve team productivity and efficiency
Participate in post-mortems and drive implementation of corrective actions
Contribute to engineering-wide initiatives for tooling, processes, and standards
Use data to inform decisions and demonstrate team impact