Sr. Engineering Manager - Jira Align

As a Sr. Engineering Manager - Jira Align at Atlassian, your main responsibilities will include leading and inspiring a team of 10-18 engineers, partnering with other engineers, designers, and product managers to deliver innovative features, defining strategic goals for your team, and driving process improvements. Additionally, you'll be involved in technical decisions that guide production services and managing a remote and distributed team across various time zones.

To qualify for the Sr. Engineering Manager - Jira Align position at Atlassian, candidates should have 5+ years of experience in leading and growing high-caliber engineering teams, 8+ years of experience as an individual contributor, and a strong background in building and operating large-scale SaaS products. Familiarity with Agile methodologies and experience interacting with Product Management to influence the roadmap are also crucial components of this role.

A typical day for a Sr. Engineering Manager - Jira Align at Atlassian involves overseeing day-to-day operations, conducting meetings with the engineering team to review progress on projects, collaborating with product managers and designers on new features, and engaging in code reviews to provide feedback. You'll also spend time mentoring team members and driving continuous process improvement to enhance both productivity and work quality.

Atlassian supports the career growth of Sr. Engineering Managers through a commitment to mentorship, providing ongoing training opportunities, and fostering an environment where continuous learning is encouraged. As a leader, you'll have the chance to help your team members develop their skills, paving the way for both their personal and professional advancement within the company.

The perks and benefits available for the Sr. Engineering Manager - Jira Align role at Atlassian include comprehensive health and wellbeing resources, paid volunteer days, flexible working arrangements, and various opportunities to engage with the local community. Atlassian prides itself on offering a supportive environment that caters to the needs of its employees and their families, ensuring an enriching work-life balance.

When answering this question, focus on how you motivate your team, your approach to decision-making, and how you encourage collaboration. Provide examples of past experiences where your leadership style positively impacted team performance and project outcomes.

Emphasize the importance of aligning tasks with both team goals and company objectives. Discuss methodologies like Agile and how you use metrics or collaboration with product managers to set priorities, ensuring the team is focused on delivering value.

Share a structured approach to conflict resolution that includes open communication, active listening, and seeking a compromise. Mention past experiences where you successfully resolved conflicts and improved team dynamics.

Discuss the importance of mentorship and professional development, providing specific examples of how you've guided team members. Elaborate on one-on-one meetings, feedback sessions, and fostering a culture of continuous learning.

Highlight specific Agile practices you’ve implemented, such as sprint planning, retrospectives, or daily stand-ups. Discuss the benefits you've observed in your team's workflow and output by adopting Agile principles.

Describe how you prioritize quality in your team's outputs, including automated testing practices you advocate, and methods to ensure high standards are met before release. Discuss examples of how you've established a culture of quality in previous roles.

Talk about tools and practices you've employed to maintain communication among distributed teams, such as regular check-ins, using collaboration software, and establishing clear expectations. Provide examples illustrating the effectiveness of these strategies.

Outline how you assess the situation, communicate with stakeholders, and propose solutions. Discuss your approach to mitigating risks, reallocating resources, or adjusting project plans while maintaining transparency with the team.

Emphasize the value of team input in decision-making processes. Share how you create an inclusive atmosphere where team members are encouraged to voice their opinions and how their feedback is actively considered in final decisions.

Discuss your familiarity with cloud technologies, focusing on specific projects where you leveraged these platforms. Highlight any challenges you faced, how you overcame them, and the impact on the project’s success.