Manager, Engineering, Product Acquisition

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:  

Designing Solutions

• Review technical solution design ensuring it aligns with our architecture. Provide guidance and direction to the team.
• Take part in system design and architecture conversations with the team to land approaches to deliver solutions.

Developing Software

• Has Developed software.   Can read code and stays up to date on best practices.
• Ensure code reviews are completed - Problem solving and analytical skills

Learning and applying new techniques

• Promotes and empowers sharing ideas, best practices, etc ensuring the team has space for these activities.
• Anticipates and analyzes trends in technology and assesses the impact of emerging technologies on the business

Collaborating within and across teams

• Supports the team agile practices and learning events / trainings
• Helps break down barriers for the team
• Builds strong working relationships with peers across teamsUnderstands the desired and actual outcomes as well as the technology delivered by the team
• Strong organizational and program management experience.
• Partner with Product Manager on Initiatives/ Epics/ Features and provides clarity on desired outcomes as well as technical expertise.
• Collaborates with Product manager for strategies, operating plans, targets and measures for product groups 
• Creates a positive team environment where individuals have psychological safety and work collaboratively while understanding, respecting, challenging and appreciating each other’s ideas

Collaborating across the organization

• Align your team with the priorities of the company and the technology organization for a given product area.

Setting product/platform technology strategy

• Participates in setting the product and platform technology vision, strategies, initiatives, roadmaps , objectives and alignments
• Represents the business value of technology upgrades, etc. and influences prioritization in the product roadmap
• Empowers the team to select the right tool and platforms for the given product area.

Defining Engineering standards/patterns

• Collaborating with Engineers to ensure adoption of Engineering best practices and promote DevOps practices and automation.
• Contributes to the creation of enterprise frameworks and patterns

DevOps

• Define and supports the development Lifecyle processes
• Supports the team and removes barriers to resolving production incidents/problems
• Ensure DevOps principles via observability, monitoring and alerting
• Understands the health of technology products and promotes prioritization of work to maintain and continuously improve
• Serve as an escalation point in product level support for ongoing maintenance and production issues 

Selecting & Managing Technology Vendors

• Be an advocate to the team to define criteria’s for selecting the right platform/technology
• Guides the team to build consensus on an approach and driving a build vs buy decision with the team. In a buy decision, works with the team to decide on criteria and vendor selection.
• Execute or manage the overall technology solutions, platforms for the product groups and associated vendor relationships.

Coaching Engineers

• Holding regular 1:1s with team members and team meeting,
• Provides constructive feedback, guidance and coaching to help engineers grow their skills and experience.
• Provides career planning advice to engineers and creates development plans to help them achieve their career goals which leverages their skills and capabilities and provides them with learning opportunities.

Recruiting/building talent

• Leads the process of selecting and engaging the right consulting partners
• Planning in advance for future people needs for the product groups, collaborate with the other teams on the recruitment process
• Recruits, develops, and sustains a high-performing team while promoting a culture of shared accountability, operational excellence, and partnership across the organization.
• Models Thrivent’s leadership competencies – courage, collaboration, and commitment by demonstrating resiliency, working together to make the best decisions, and holding yourself and others accountable.  ​
• Supports and/or develops an environment in which Thrivent employees and colleagues are focused on continuous improvement, exceptional employee engagement, and an unwavering commitment to our clients.  Shapes and/or supports a culture that represents the Thrivent purpose, promise and values, ensuring that Thrivent’s trust and reputation remain strong with its clients.  
• Manage a team of direct employees and consultants. 

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QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS:  

 Required:

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science or other technical field or equivalent work experience 
• 8+ years of progressively responsible positions in Information Technology including 5+ years’ experience in software development, portfolio strategy and roadmap development. 
• 3+ years’ management/supervisory experience in specific IT functional area discipline, e.g. applications development or equivalent skills leading major technical projects with accountability for enforcing talent management needs and performance standards. 
• Demonstrated experience and leadership introducing and growing a Product Operating Model (Agile/Scrum).
• Demonstrated leadership and experience managing multidiscipline, high-performance work teams. 
• Strong competency in project management and execution of multiple or large projects. 
• Experience working with customers to develop solutions to complex business problems. 
• Proven ability to communicate effectively with internal/external stakeholders to support business initiatives. 
• Proven ability to function in an environment which requires flexibility, good judgment and intelligent decision making, often based on limited information and/or extreme conditions. 
• Ability to formulate, implement and evaluate plans, programs and procedures applicable to customer relationship and demand management. 

Preferred:

·        Direct experience in Life, Health and Annuity insurance products, delivering technology for Financial Advisors.

·        Series 99 license or above.

Thrivent provides Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) without regard to race, religion, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, marital status, citizenship status, military or veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected by applicable local, state, or federal law. This policy applies to all employees and job applicants.

Thrivent is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, please let us know by sending an email to human.resources@thrivent.com or call 800-847-4836 and request Human Resources.