Software Engineering Manager III

General Atomics•Charlottesville, VA

18h

About The Position

GA-Intelligence maintains and deploys production systems for users across the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, and commercial industry. We build and develop best-in-class all domain and globally focused situational awareness capabilities, including THRESHER and DRAGONSPELL, that process petabytes of data in near real time. Our systems apply state-of-the-art algorithms and machine learning techniques to extract features and fuse data to form a rich live view of objects in the sky, on the sea, and on the ground. Our rapidly growing suite of federal software solutions are used by thousands of intelligence analysts and military personnel around the globe to counter new and emerging threats to national security. GA-Intelligence is establishing a People organization with a matrix staffing model to support our rapid growth and technical excellence. We are seeking an experienced Functional Group Manager to lead our Backend Software Engineering function, serving as the "home room" manager for approximately 20-40 backend software engineers while they execute technical work across Solutions and Products teams. As a Functional Group Manager, you will be responsible for the professional wellbeing, career development, and administrative oversight of the backend software engineers assigned to you. You will partner with Solutions and Products leadership on workforce allocation, lead hiring efforts for your functional group, and foster technical excellence through communities of practice and professional development initiatives. This role balances people management, technical community leadership, and strategic workforce planning. Note: This role is part of GA-Intelligence's 2026 organizational transformation to a matrix structure. As a Functional Group Manager, you'll be instrumental in building the People organization from the ground up and establishing processes that will define how we support our technical workforce for years to come.

Requirements

Typically requires a Bachelors, Masters or PhD in engineering or a related technical field as well as eleven or more years of progressively complex software engineering experience. Equivalent experience may be substituted in lieu of education.
8+ years of related experience, including 3+ years in a people management or technical leadership role.
Strong technical background in software engineering, with demonstrated expertise in relevant technologies (e.g., Java, Python, Go, microservice architectures, databases, APIs, cloud platforms)
Proven experience managing, mentoring, or leading software engineers
Track record of developing engineers from junior to senior levels
Excellent judgment in making staffing and resource allocation decisions
Experience conducting performance reviews and managing career development
Demonstrated ability to balance competing priorities and manage stakeholder expectations
Understanding of software development lifecycle and agile methodologies
Experience with recruiting and interviewing technical talent
Ability to build trust and relationships across organizational boundaries
Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with ability to influence without direct authority
Comfort operating in a matrix organization structure
Ability to obtain and maintain DoD security clearance required.

Nice To Haves

Experience establishing or scaling technical organizations or engineering teams
Background in multiple technology stacks and architectures
Familiarity with professional development frameworks and career ladders for engineers
Previous experience in a matrix organization or similar dual-reporting structure
Experience navigating corporate HR systems while advocating for technical teams
Contributions to technical communities (conferences, open source, publications)
Understanding of government contracting and cleared environments
Experience with developer productivity metrics and engineering effectiveness
Strong network in the engineering community for recruiting purposes

Responsibilities

Serve as the administrative supervisor and "home room" manager for 20-40 software engineers
Aggregate performance feedback from Solutions/Products technical leaders and execute performance reviews within GA Corporate HR systems
Establish and maintain career paths specific to software engineering
Make strategic staffing decisions, assigning engineers to Solution and Product development teams based on business priorities
Conduct regular check-ins with day-to-day supervisors to discuss employee performance and assignment fit
Serve as hiring manager for new backend-leaning engineering hires and coordinate with GA Talent Acquisition partners
Establish function-specific hiring practices for backend-leaning engineering roles
Train staff on hiring process, particularly technical screens and interview best practices
Coordinate internal experimentation with emerging technologies, ensuring learnings are shared across teams
Manage professional development budget allocation for your functional group
Organize and support communities of interest/excellence for backend engineering topics
Create and maintain function-relevant onboarding training materials for backend-leaning engineers
Coordinate structured onboarding training for new hires
Participate in strategic workforce planning to anticipate future skill needs for backend engineering
Coordinate with Engineering Enablement Lead on developer experience improvements, tooling, and infrastructure
Contribute to building a developer-first culture focused on technical excellence
Work within GA Corporate HR systems, policies, and performance review cycles
Track and report on key metrics including employee satisfaction, retention, staffing fulfillment, and professional development participation