Development Team Manager

As a Development Team Manager at DMSi, you’ll lead one or more development teams with a people-first mentality and servant-leader approach. As part of the leadership team, you’ll work to shape, enhance, and promote the culture of our development organization. We are customer-obsessed and believe in understanding a customer’s needs through discovery and how they interact with our products.  We continually grow our practices and technical capabilities to improve our craft and allow us to deliver quality software frequently.  The ideal candidate sees the vision of how a team comes together and uses Agile/Lean practices to promote employee engagement and ensure employees feel valued and supported.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES: 

Leadership

1. Lead one or more cross-functional software development teams to achieve organizational goals, creating a positive and engaging work environment. 
2. Serve as a member of the Development Leadership team to create strategies and plan improvements to aid in evolving the Development organization.  

Team Practices and Collaboration

1. Promote and facilitate collaboration between the development teams and the Product Management, Technical Engineering, Architecture, and Support teams.  
2. Maintain open and effective communication within the team and across departments.
3. Ensure all agile activities are in place and followed effectively. Create alignment to common goals and evolve ways of working that support the team’s culture, predictability, quality, and craft. Promote team learning and continual improvement.  
4. Create focus and empowerment for the development teams by anticipating and removing impediments, protecting teams’ time to guard the ability to deliver, and driving practices to manage scope.  
5. Ensure the team has the necessary resources, tools, and knowledge to perform their jobs effectively.
6. Foster a strong team dynamic, building a positive team culture and encouraging learning and collaboration.
7. Instill a user focus in team activities. Promote frequent feedback cycles to infuse insights from end-users, key stakeholders, and the production experience into the product development cycle.  
8. Address conflicts and find solutions to ensure a positive and productive environment. 

Delivery

1. Guide the development of delivery forecasts that lead to predictability.  
2. Identify and develop meaningful metrics/measurements to support teams’ ability to create success and continual improvement.
3. Ensure the team’s work aligns with the overall goals of the organization.  
4. Drive integration and delivery practices. Identify inefficiencies in team processes and promote/facilitate changes to improve efficiency, team health, and continuous learning.

Employee Development

1. Advocate and mentor best practices in product development, software engineering, and architecture.  
2. Set goals, provide feedback, conduct performance reviews, and address performance issues.
3. Provide opportunities for employee growth and development.
4. Assist with onboarding support for new hires and ensure they have the necessary training to succeed.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES: 
Knowledge of Design Thinking, User-Centered Design, Product Discovery, and modern Product Management preferred. 
Experience with developing Software as a Service and evolving long-standing platforms preferred.  
Ability to communicate to technical and non-technical audiences.  
Experience promoting and communicating change messages. 
Demonstrated skills in coaching, mentoring, and conflict resolution. 

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:  
Bachelor’s or master’s degree in business administration, management, or a technology-related field preferred.  
Experience in a management role leading teams/individuals preferred.
Five+ years of direct experience in agile/lean methodologies in a software development environment.

WORK ENVIRONMENT & PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
Normal office environment with use of computers and telephone systems; no unusual physical demands.
Ability to travel as needed, including rental car and air flight.