Job Description
The Software Engineering Manager position manages and oversees the design and development of software within the City’s content management system, WordPress. You will direct the work of a team of engineers to ensure best practices around software development, for the City’s digital front door, phila.gov. This role reports to the Director of Software Engineering.
You will:
• Oversee the day-to-day operations of application engineering team
• Build bespoke solutions for departments across the city, either greenfield or modernization of existing legacy applications
• Mentor and grow a team of engineers while keeping them engaged and focused on the Office of Innovation and Technology’s goals
• Be an advocate for consistency and cohesion for the phila.gov project from a technical perspective
• Enforce clean code and excellent coding practices
• Conduct thoughtful code reviews
• Help create a collaborative and inclusive environment where engineers are encouraged to ask questions and work in the open
• Create and reinforce a culture of quality
• Help conceptualize, build, and manage tooling that contributes to Developer Experience, automates away friction, and contributes to velocity
• Coordinate team vision and roadmap setting with the Director of Software Engineering
• Continuously improve upon your team's process and best practices ensuring the effective delivery of high-quality software, while balancing the constraints of existing systems to improve the quality of digital services for residents of Philadelphia
• Direct the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) from a growth-forward perspective
• Support, maintain, and improve production systems used for critical City workloads
Essential Functions
_ Management_
• Supports and expands a culture that is supportive of diversity, equity, and inclusion were employees from all backgrounds can succeed and thrive.
• Helps to project timelines and capacity for individual team members.
• Encourages new growth for employees within their preview
• Conducts performance reviews.
• Models best practices.
** Operations**
• Coordinates the development and implementation of major project timelines where appropriate.
• Follows effective relationship and project management processes in coordination with Digital Service (DS) team members and engagement managers at the City
• Unblocks team members from technical issues.
Relationship Building
• Develop and maintain strong partnerships with key members of the Digital Services team
• Coordinate and collaborate with partners in Digital Services, including User Experience and Content Strategy
_ Competencies, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities_
• Proven track record managing complex projects.
• Ability to solve complex business problems and develop user/business-driven technology strategies and plans.
• Strong written and oral communication skills (including ability to present ideas in user-friendly, business-friendly and technical language) and interpersonal skills with a focus on rapport-building, listening and questioning skills.
• Proven analytical and problem-solving abilities, including ability to anticipate, identify, and solve critical problems.
• Exceptional customer service orientation.
While you won’t necessarily be working with these technologies every day, you should have a broad enough understanding of them to help support your team.
• Understanding of the modern web platform and common architectures
• Server-side programming languages such as .NET Core, or Node.js
• Command line and shell scripts
• Web application security concerns and ways to mitigate them
• Git, or similar version control systems
• SQL, and usage of relational databases such as PostgreSQL, Oracle, MSSQL
• Amazon Web Services
• CI/CD pipelines
• API design and development
Especially strong candidates will have prior experience building new features in a Enterprise-level content management system with many active users.
Bonus points for having actively completed successful modernization projects of legacy services.
Qualifications
We care more about what you can do than where you learned how to do it. That said, a bachelor’s degree is a good foundation for the work, and job-related experience around the competencies above is acceptable as well. The ideal candidate will have at least three to five years of supervisory, management, or project management experience.
Additional Information
Salary Range: $105,000 - $115,000
Starting salary to be determined based on experience and qualifications.
All applications should include the following:
• A one-page cover letter clarifying your interest and qualifications for the role. It really helps us understand why you’re interested in this position. We read every single one!
• Your resume or curriculum vitae.
• Optionally, an online professional portfolio or public GitHub account.
We won’t accept or review incomplete applications.
Work Setting: in-person (onsite)
Discover the Perks of Being a City of Philadelphia Employee:
• We offer Comprehensive health coverage for employees and their eligible dependents
• Our wellness program offers eligibility into the discounted medical plan
• Employees receive paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays
• Generous retirement savings options are available
• Pay off your student loans faster - As a qualifying employer, City of Philadelphia employees are eligible to participate in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Join the ranks of hundreds of employees who have already benefited from this program and achieved student loan forgiveness.
• Enjoy a Free Commute on SEPTA - Starting September 1, 2023, eligible City employees will no longer have to worry about paying for SEPTA public transportation. Whether you're a full-time, part-time, or provisional employee, you can seize the opportunity to sign up for the SEPTA Key Advantage Program and receive free Key cards for free rides on SEPTA buses, trains, trolleys, and regional rails.
• Unlock Tuition Discounts and Scholarships - The City of Philadelphia has forged partnerships with over a dozen esteemed colleges and universities in the area, ensuring that our employees have access to a wide range of tuition discounts and scholarships. Experience savings of 10% to 40% on your educational expenses, extending not only to City employees but in some cases, spouse and dependents too!
Join the City of Philadelphia team today and seize these incredible benefits designed to enhance your financial well-being and personal growth!
*The successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire
Effective May 22, 2023, vaccinations are no longer required for new employees that work in non-medical, non-emergency or patient facing positions with the City of Philadelphia. As a result, only employees in positions providing services that are patient-facing medical care (ex: Nurses, doctors, emergency medical personnel), must be fully vaccinated.
The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to faqpchr@phila.gov.