Software Engineering Senior Manager

Sidley Austin LLP • Chicago, IL

14d • $210,000 - $230,000

About The Position

The Software Engineering Senior Manager is a senior technical leader responsible for architecting, building, and operating the firm's cloud-native automation platform. This role requires deep expertise in Azure cloud architecture, distributed systems, and software engineering, with automation platform knowledge as a secondary skill.
This is a technical leadership role first, people management second. The ideal candidate comes from a cloud engineering, platform engineering, or full-stack development background with DevOps expertise—not from traditional RPA or low-code automation tools.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Systems, or related technical field; or equivalent professional experience with demonstrable cloud architecture expertise
• Minimum 6 years of hands-on software engineering experience building cloud-native applications on Azure
• Minimum 3 years of experience with Azure Container Apps, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), or equivalent container orchestration platforms
• Minimum 2 years of people management experience leading software engineering teams (4+ engineers)
• Proven track record delivering distributed systems in production using microservices architecture and event-driven patterns
• Deep Azure networking expertise including VNETs, subnets, Network Security Groups, private endpoints, Private DNS Zones, VNET peering, Application Gateway, and NAT Gateway
• Hands-on experience with Azure Service Bus, Azure database services including Azure SQL Database with Elastic Pools, Azure PostgreSQL Flexible Server, managed identity authentication, connection pooling, and private endpoint configuration
• Expert-level Bicep or Terraform proficiency with ability to read, write, and debug complex Infrastructure-as-Code modules (500+ lines)
• Deep understanding of microservices communication patterns including synchronous HTTP, asynchronous messaging, event-driven architecture, and service discovery
• Experience with CQRS and Mediator patterns (MediatR or equivalent)
• Proficiency in C# and .NET (minimum .NET 6, preferably .NET 8+) including NET Core Web API with Controllers, Async/await patterns and Task-based asynchronous programming, LINQ and lambda expressions, Dependency injection and Options pattern and Entity Framework Core
• Proficiency in TypeScript/JavaScript including js development, Async patterns (Promises, async/await), npm/pnpm package management, Module systems (CommonJS, ES modules) and scripting proficiency in Bash or PowerShell for deployment automation and troubleshooting
• Expert-level experience with Azure DevOps YAML pipelines including multi-stage pipelines, pipeline templates, variable groups, and environment-based deployments
• Container image build and deployment workflows including Dockerfile optimization, multi-stage builds, and Azure Container Registry integration
• Proven ability to mentor software engineers on cloud-native development patterns, distributed systems concepts, and Azure architecture
• Strong code review skills with ability to provide constructive feedback on backend APIs, infrastructure code, and integration logic
• Systematic troubleshooting approach for complex distributed systems issues
• Ability to diagnose Azure networking problems including DNS resolution failures, private endpoint connectivity issues, and Application Gateway routing problems
• Strong analytical skills for capacity planning, performance optimization, and cost analysis
• Ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives with shifting priorities and tight deadlines
• Strong organizational skills
• Strong attention to detail
• Good judgment
• Strong interpersonal communication skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Able to work harmoniously and effectively with others
• Able to preserve confidentiality and exercise discretion
• Able to work under pressure
• Able to manage multiple projects with competing deadlines and priorities

Nice To Haves

• Azure Certifications
• AZ-400: Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions
• AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions
• AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure
• AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator
• Experience with .NET Aspire for cloud-native application orchestration and service discovery
• Proficiency with n8n or equivalent workflow automation platforms (Temporal, Prefect, Airflow)
• Event Grid and Event Hubs for event-driven architectures
• Agile/Scrum certifications including Certified Scrum Master (CSM) or SAFe Agilist
• Experience in professional services industry (legal, financial services, accounting, consulting)
• Understanding of enterprise security and compliance requirements (SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR)
• Familiarity with legal technology or document management systems

Responsibilities

• Design and evolve the distributed system architecture for the cloud-native automation platform, including Azure Container Apps, Service Bus, PostgreSQL, Redis, and Blob Storage
• Design event-driven architectures using Azure Service Bus for high-volume asynchronous processing
• Optimize platform performance, cost, and operational complexity through architectural improvements
• Lead .NET backend development including ASP.NET Core APIs, CQRS pattern with MediatR, Entity Framework Core, and FluentValidation
• Guide TypeScript development for custom n8n integration nodes and webhook lifecycle management
• Conduct code reviews ensuring adherence to SOLID principles, async programming best practices, and distributed systems patterns
• Own and evolve multi-stage Azure DevOps YAML pipelines including multi-phase infrastructure deployment, container image builds, and environment-specific deployments
• Manage and mentor 4-6 software engineers (growing to 8-10), focusing on cloud engineering skill development
• Collaborate with business stakeholders to translate workflow automation requirements into cloud-native technical solutions

Benefits

• Our compensation package also includes bonus eligibility and a comprehensive benefits program.
• Benefits information can be found at Sidley.com/Benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees