Software Engineering Manager-Search Platforms

O'Reilly Auto Parts • Headquarters, KY

3d • Onsite

About The Position

A Software Engineering Manager - Search Platforms will assist in all aspects of lifecycle management of a product/service or a group of products/services (from ideation to launch, and through to retirement), leveraging data to understand user behavior, identify product opportunities, and measure the success of product initiatives. This role provides technical leadership for search platform development and operations, ensuring scalable, high-performing, and relevant search experiences across digital commerce channels, while directly overseeing engineering talent. This position is located in Springfield, MO.

Requirements

• Manages and develops all aspects of a product or service to ensure it achieves its full impact and value in the market.
• Oversees and manages all stages of a product's lifecycle, from ideation to retirement, ensuring efficient processes, timely delivery, and adherence to quality standards.
• Plans, organizes, prioritizes and oversees activities to efficiently meet objectives.
• Communicates and articulates potential resolutions or strategies in a clear, compelling, and tailored manner to address specific challenges or meet organizational needs.
• Analyzes and researches market conditions and facts in order to develop a full and comprehensive understanding of the market to enable it to be utilized for the benefit of the organization.
• Determines and analyzes trends from data that is collected to assist in compiling reports that will help in decision-making.
• Identifies potential stakeholders, analyzes their expectations, and develops strategies for managing stakeholders and their expectations.
• Reviews and evaluates recommendations and requirements and to develop appropriate plans or deliver actions required.
• Identifies, sequences, and resources project schedules for timely completion.
• Plans, identifies, monitors, analyzes, and prioritizes risks (threats and opportunities), creates response plans, and manages the risk if it occurs.
• Identifies, verifies, and manages changes to the scope of the project or program, utilizing the most appropriate approach.
• Identifies appropriate measures for assessing solution performance and limitations, validates with key stakeholders, and collects appropriate performance measures to assess overall solution performance to recommend specific actions to increase solution value.
• Identifies, tracks, and enables the achievement of the planned benefits and intended outcomes of a program and associated projects.
• Develops an effective change strategy based on gap analyses and enterprise readiness assessment results, including transitions states and release plans.
• Strong search platform background with proven expertise in search relevance tuning, query optimization, and performance monitoring.
• Engineering background with strong experience in Java (Python a plus) and cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP).
• Familiarity with DevOps practices and tools such as Docker and Kubernetes.

Nice To Haves

• Experience supporting e-commerce or enterprise-scale search platforms.
• Advanced education in project management or leadership.
• ITIL certification.

Responsibilities

• Monitor all aspects of a product life cycle, including long- and short-term development and marketing.
• Perform analyses to stay abreast of trends in the marketplace and ensure the product's competitive position.
• Define and deliver products and services that meet customer needs by selecting the best possible approaches available within established systems.
• Deliver defined features, functionality, or outcomes from a designated part of the development/engineering program, selecting the best available approach within established systems.
• Research data from digital product/service performance, customer behavior, and market trends to identify opportunities for product/service improvement.
• Explore issues or needs, establishing potential causes and barriers, as well as related issues.
• Execute the development plan for a new product or service, managing project schedules, identifying risks, and communicating to project stakeholders.
• Collect, analyze and interpret large datasets related to product usage, user behavior and market trends; identify trends and patterns in the data to uncover user needs, pain points, and opportunities for product improvement.
• Edit document in line with organizational style guidelines and prepare information for publication.
• Work within an established project management plan to achieve specific goals.
• Review the backlog of work for a small project and reprioritize the work and deployment of project resources to reduce costs and increase the value of the work delivered to the business.
• Provide advice, training, and assistance to clients to resolve complex queries and ensure the product and service capabilities are well understood and implemented in the context of the business.
• Demonstrate the most valuable features/attributes of the product/service; lead a team of demo specialists to bring the highest value to customers during demonstrations.
• Develop own capabilities by participating in assessment and development planning activities as well as formal and informal training and coaching; gain or maintain external professional accreditation, where relevant, to improve performance and fulfill personal potential.
• Maintain an understanding of relevant technology, external regulation, and industry best practices through ongoing education, attending conferences, and reading specialist media.
• Manage the analysis, design, development, implementation, and testing of search-related applications and platforms (such as Solr, Elasticsearch, and Amazon OpenSearch).
• Lead an engineering team to deliver scalable, high-quality search solutions, providing daily technical direction, coaching, mentoring, and performance feedback.
• Drive search relevance tuning initiatives, including boosting, weighting, ranking strategies, schema configuration, and synonym management.

Benefits

• Competitive Wages & Paid Time Off
• Stock Purchase Plan & 401k with Employer Contributions Starting Day One
• Medical, Dental, & Vision Insurance with Optional Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Team Member Health/Wellbeing Programs
• Tuition Educational Assistance Programs
• Opportunities for Career Growth

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed