As a Software Development Manager at zu, you’ll own the delivery health and team development of a group of developers. You’ll run a tight feedback loop between people, process, and product by working with tech leads and project managers to keep work moving, help developers grow, and contribute to how we plan and hire. You’ll stay technically grounded without becoming a delivery bottleneck.
AI is embedded in how we work, and this role plays a direct part in shaping how the team adopts it responsibly. This role sits at the first split between our individual contributor and management tracks, and it’s designed for someone who’s genuinely motivated by the work of developing people and clearing the path for great engineering while staying hands-on technically.
What You’ll Do
- Work with our Technical Director to manage and develop a team of developers through regular 1:1s, feedback, and growth planning
- Proactively identify and clear blockers so the team can focus on high-impact work
- Collaborate with tech leads and project managers on roadmap planning to help the team engage at the product level by thinking through constraints, tradeoffs, and business value alongside delivery
- Contribute to recruiting efforts, including interviews, candidate evaluation, and resource planning
- Track and report on delivery metrics and SDLC process health
- Set clear expectations for how the team uses AI tooling
- Surface technical debt trade-offs with clear cost/benefit framing for stakeholders
What You’ll Bring
- 6+ years of software development experience, including time in a senior or lead role
- Demonstrated experience managing or leading developers in a professional setting
- Strong communication skills across technical and non-technical audiences
- Comfortable holding people accountable while remaining a supportive, authentic manager
- Able to stay technically relevant without pulling focus from people and process responsibilities
Bonus Skills
- Experience in agency environments, regulated industries, or managing hybrid/distributed teams
How You’ll Grow
- Build your people management practice with direct support from senior leadership
- Develop strategic influence over how zu’s engineering organization operates and scale
- Experience in agency environments, regulated industries, or managing hybrid/distributed teams
If you’re a developer who’s found that helping your team do great work is as rewarding as doing it yourself, we’d love to hear from you.
To apply: Submit your resume and a portfolio or samples of previous work.
Apply Now arrow_forward arrow_forward