Senior Engineering Manager

Obviant•Arlington, VA

12d•$180,000 - $220,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Obviant is seeking a Senior Engineering Manager to lead either their data engineering team or their product/web application team. The role involves owning the team end-to-end, setting technical direction, managing delivery cadence, growing engineers, and maintaining code proximity. The company emphasizes high standards and a commitment to delivering accurate data for critical defense acquisition and investment decisions. The ideal candidate will possess strong technical skills combined with leadership abilities to multiply their impact through a team.

Requirements

7+ years of engineering experience
Substantial time leading and growing engineering teams
Real technical depth: ability to reason through system design, spot failure modes, and prioritize for initial shipment
Track record of owning team delivery: planning, estimation, and reliable execution
Experience holding the line on performance, scalability, and technical debt
Direct experience with hard management aspects: delivering hard feedback, working with struggling performers, running exits
Strong communication skills in all directions: pushing back on leadership, explaining technical work to non-technical audiences, coaching engineers, over-communicating
Comfort with high autonomy and accountability in a fast-moving, early-stage environment
Comfort with ambiguity and proactive in seeking direction
Strong references from current and prior roles

Nice To Haves

Experience building complex data or AI systems (large-scale ingestion, pipeline orchestration, schema evolution, entity resolution)
Experience managing fast-moving web application teams
Background in government, defense tech, or another regulated environment
An active TS/SCI clearance, or eligibility to obtain one
Experience owning platform-level infrastructure from initial design through scaling it across multiple teams

Responsibilities

Set technical direction with senior engineers, guiding the team through design tradeoffs, architecture decisions, and implementation quality.
Own and enforce engineering standards and quality bar for the team.
Mentor, review, and build a culture of quality within the team.
Step into tactical roles to unblock the team or achieve business-critical outcomes.
Develop engineers through growth plans, direct feedback, and clear leveling conversations.
Deliver feedback with candor and empathy.
Diagnose underperformance, coach honestly, and handle exits with dignity.
Hire and expand the team while maintaining quality standards.
Communicate team direction and risks to leadership and peers.
Foster a culture of ownership, high accountability, and zero excuses.
Ensure engineering rituals are honest, co-created with the team, and effective.
Run retrospectives that lead to implemented and lasting improvements.
Manage meaningful health and delivery metrics, avoiding gaming.
Partner with Product, Design, and Go-to-Market teams (for product engineering) or analysts, AI/ML, and data consumers (for data engineering).
Translate mission and business goals into clear engineering outcomes.
Push back on priorities with conviction and clarity.
Keep the team focused and healthy during priority shifts.