Sr Manager, Engineering Tech Lead

McDonald's Corporation•Chicago, IL

About The Position

McDonald’s growth strategy, Accelerating the Arches, encompasses all aspects of our business as the leading global omni-channel restaurant brand. As the consumer landscape shifts we are using our competitive advantages to further strengthen our brand. One of our core growth strategies is to Double Down on the 3Ds (Delivery, Digital and Drive Thru). McDonald’s will accelerate technology innovation so 65M+ customers a day will experience a fast, easy experience, whether at one of our 25,000 and growing Drive thrus, through McDelivery, dine-in or takeaway.  McDonald’s Global Technology is here to power tomorrow’s feel-good moments.   That’s why you’ll find us at the forefront of transformative technology, exploring new and innovative ways to serve our millions of customers and spread happiness one delicious Hot Fudge Sundae-dipped fry at a time. Using AI, robotics and emerging tech, we’re digitizing the Golden Arches. Combine that with our unparalleled global scale, and we’re reshaping all areas of the business, industry and every community that is home to a McDonald’s restaurant. We face complex tech challenges every day. But that’s where our diverse and talented teams come in. They’re made up of the best and brightest from all over the globe, and they thrive in the space where feel-good meets fast-paced.   Check out the McDonald’s  Global Technology Technical Blog to learn how technology and our global team are directly enabling the Accelerating the Arches strategy.  Department OverviewThe Senior Manager, Engineering – Conversational Commerce Core Product Innovation leads a team of engineers responsible for designing, building, and scaling the foundational capabilities that power McDonald’s next-generation digital ordering experiences. This role is critical to driving innovation, rapid iteration, and technical excellence across the Conversational Commerce platform, ensuring solutions are robust, scalable, and future-ready. A core focus of this role is to deliver seamless, consistent, and personalized customer experiences across all channels—including drive thru, kiosk, mobile, web, and emerging platforms—by leveraging advanced AI and LLM technologies. Company Values At McDonald’s, our company values are at the heart of everything we do. As a leader, you are expected to: Serve: Put customers and crew at the center of every decision, delivering experiences that delight and inspire. Inclusion: Foster a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment where every voice is valued and respected. Integrity: Uphold the highest standards of honesty, transparency, and ethical conduct in all actions and decisions. Community: Build strong relationships within our teams and with our partners, supporting the communities we serve. Family: Treat colleagues, partners, and customers with care, empathy, and respect, creating a sense of belonging for all. Growth: Champion continuous learning, innovation, and improvement—both for yourself and your team.

Requirements

7+ years of experience in software engineering, platform development, or product innovation, with progressive leadership responsibilities.
5+ years leading engineering teams in Agile environments.
Deep familiarity with AI/LLM technologies, cloud platforms, and modern software architecture.
Strong experience with CI/CD, test automation, and DevOps practices.
Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and cross-functional leadership skills.
Working knowledge of security best practices and compliance standards (e.g., GDPR, PCI-DSS).

Nice To Haves

Hands-on experience with LLMs (e.g., Gemini, Claude, Gemma, Llama), cloud AI platforms (e.g., Bedrock, Vertex), and Model Context Protocol.
Experience with responsible AI best practices, testing generative agents, and customer-facing AI applications.
Experience integrating with audio hardware and voice-first interfaces.
Experience scaling AI/LLM-powered solutions across multiple digital and physical channels.
Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, or related field.

Responsibilities

Lead the end-to-end development and continuous improvement of core Conversational Commerce services, with a focus on scalable architecture, AI/LLM integration, and seamless cross-channel experiences.
Drive the technical vision and strategy for new product capabilities, collaborating with product management, UX, architecture, and infrastructure teams.
Champion rapid prototyping, experimentation, and the adoption of emerging technologies to deliver differentiated customer and crew experiences.
Architect and implement advanced AI/LLM-powered solutions that enable natural, context-aware interactions across all customer touchpoints—drive thru, kiosk, mobile, web, voice, and future platforms.
Ensure that customer journeys are unified and personalized, regardless of channel, by building modular, extensible AI frameworks that support rapid onboarding of new experiences and markets.
Lead the integration of large language models (LLMs) to support adaptive, multilingual, and contextually relevant interactions, driving consistency and delight across every channel.
Develop and maintain scalable frameworks for prompt engineering, context management, and real-time orchestration of AI agents, ensuring that innovations in one channel can be leveraged across others.
Collaborate with data science, AI, and platform teams to continuously improve model performance, reduce hallucinations, and ensure responsible AI practices.
Oversee the design and implementation of platform services, APIs, and integration points, ensuring high performance, reliability, and extensibility.
Lead and coordinate integration efforts for Point of Sale, Audio, Menu, and Digital Ordering systems, ensuring robust and reliable connectivity across the restaurant and digital ecosystem.
Guide the migration from legacy protocols to modern, event-driven, and API-first architectures (e.g., GStreamer to WebSocket, Model Context Protocol).
Define solutions for complex integration and platform challenges, including rapid troubleshooting and deployment of workarounds in collaboration with internal and external partners.
Oversee the development and deployment of Docker containers and CI/CD pipelines to support virtualized testing and continuous delivery.
Implement and manage feature toggles, overlay screens, and configuration management for rapid enablement of new features.
Ensure robust documentation, support processes, and operational readiness for all core product innovations.
Build and mentor a high-performing engineering team, fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Serve as the technical liaison for integration partners and vendors, facilitating solution reviews, alignment meetings, and escalation management.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align on requirements, priorities, and technical strategy.