About the Company Our client is a global software business building products that support professionals in complex, fast-moving environments. Their platforms are deeply embedded in day-to-day workflows and are designed to improve efficiency, reduce administrative burden, and help users focus on higher-value work. With ongoing investment in modern product development and AI, they are continuing to evolve their technology to solve practical problems at scale.
About the Role This is an Engineering Manager opportunity for someone who still enjoys building and wants to remain technically engaged while leading high-performing teams. Based in Auckland, you will initially oversee two teams, with scope to expand to four over time. The structure will include direct management of one team as well as leadership through tech leads or managers across other teams.
You will play a key role in setting engineering direction, creating the right environment for teams to succeed, and removing constraints that get in the way of delivery. This is not a role where you are expected to be on the critical path for shipping software, but you should be comfortable staying close to architecture, prototyping, and code. You will help shape how engineering teams operate in an AI-assisted world while supporting the delivery of globally used software.
The environment combines modern engineering thinking with the realities of an established platform. The business is improving operational maturity at pace, with stronger incident processes, chat ops, SLOs, component ownership, and better use of metrics already being introduced. The technology landscape includes a legacy PHP monolith alongside a gradual migration toward Go and modern API rebuilds within the existing platform. AI integration is already underway, making this a particularly interesting role for someone excited by both transformation and practical product delivery.
Skills & Experience - Proven experience leading software engineering teams in modern product or SaaS environments
- Strong people leadership skills, with the ability to develop team capability and build high-performing cultures
- Comfortable remaining technically credible and contributing to architecture, technical discussions, and prototyping
- Experience with continuous delivery and frequent deployment practices
- Strong understanding of engineering standards, operational maturity, team ownership, and software reliability
- Experience working with legacy systems while driving pragmatic modernisation
- A product mindset, with genuine motivation to solve customer problems and improve outcomes
- Ability to lead teams through change and bring others along on a transformation journey
- Exposure to AI-enabled product development or interest in helping teams evolve in an AI-assisted engineering environment
- Background in environments known for strong engineering practices would be highly regarded
Why Work Here? - Join a business building meaningful products that make a real difference in real-world environments
- Lead teams solving practical problems with AI
- Stay close to the technical work while stepping into a high-impact leadership role
- Help shape engineering culture, delivery standards, and team maturity at an important stage of growth
- Work on a compelling mix of legacy modernisation, API rebuilds, and new AI capability
- Be part of a culture that values ownership, continuous improvement, and customer impact
- Work from Home flexibility available
- Based in Auckland, with the chance to contribute to globally used products from a high-performing local team
Closing Statement If you are an Engineering Manager who enjoys building strong teams, improving engineering environments, and staying close to the technical work, this is a rare opportunity to do all three in a product setting with genuine purpose. Apply now for a confidential discussion
